Meaning & use
homeboy
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableinformalslangAmerican
A close male friend from your own neighborhood or hometown.
Grammar: Countable noun: a homeboy, two homeboys. Often used as a term of address: Hey, homeboy!
Patterns
- someone's homeboy
- a homeboy from (a place)
He grew up in Chicago and still hangs out with his homeboys from high school.
Hey, homeboy, what's up?
My homeboy from the old neighborhood just opened a barbershop.
nouncountableslangoffensiveAmerican
A male member of a street gang, especially one from the same gang as the speaker.
Grammar: Countable; usually used in gang contexts and often as a term of address.
Patterns
- a homeboy from the same gang
The witness said the shooter was a homeboy from a rival set.
He refused to talk to the police about his homeboys.
Word forms
| plural | homeboys |
|---|
Common combinations
- homeboy from the neighborhood
- He's a homeboy from the neighborhood, so everyone knows him.
- old homeboy
- I ran into an old homeboy at the grocery store.
- homeboy network
- Some people get jobs through a homeboy network rather than open applications.
Synonyms and how they differ
- buddy
- Buddy is a general, friendly term for a close male friend and does not carry the neighborhood or gang associations of homeboy.
- homie
- Homie is very similar but is more common in some regions and can be used for any close friend, not only males from your area.
- friend
- Friend is neutral and standard; homeboy is informal and suggests a shared background or street connection.
Commonly confused: homeboy or homebody?
homeboy vs homebody
A homebody is someone who enjoys staying at home; a homeboy is a close male friend from your area. They sound similar but mean very different things.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'homeboy' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Homeboy means a male friend from your neighborhood, so 'He's my homeboy from the old neighborhood' fits. 'She's my homeboy' is wrong because it is used for males. The other options treat it as an object, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “homeboy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.