Meaning & use
the pool boy
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Meanings
nouncountable
A young man employed to clean and look after a swimming pool, especially at a private home.
Grammar: Countable: a pool boy, the pool boy, two pool boys. Often written with the definite article when the person is already known.
Patterns
- the pool boy cleaned something
- hire a pool boy
- the pool boy at a hotel
The pool boy comes every Tuesday to clean the filter and skim the leaves.
She hired a pool boy for the summer because she was traveling a lot.
The hotel's pool boy also brings guests fresh towels.
nouncountableinformal
In films and novels, a young man who works around a rich family's pool and is often shown as attractive or involved in a romance.
Grammar: Countable and usually singular in this fixed story role: the pool boy.
Patterns
- the pool boy and the lady of the house
- play the pool boy in a film
The plot turns on a romance between the wealthy wife and the pool boy.
He was typecast as the pool boy in every summer movie.
Word forms
| plural | pool boys |
|---|
Common combinations
- hire a pool boy
- They hired a pool boy when the children started using the pool daily.
- the pool boy cleaned the pool
- The pool boy cleaned the pool before the party.
- a teenage pool boy
- A teenage pool boy mowed the lawn and checked the chemicals.
- the pool boy's duties
- The pool boy's duties include testing the water and adding chlorine.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pool cleaner
- Neutral and can mean a person or a machine; pool boy always means a young male worker and often carries a flirtatious or clichéd tone.
- pool attendant
- More formal and used for hotels and clubs; pool boy sounds casual and suggests a private home.
Word family
- pool noun
- The water-filled structure the pool boy takes care of.
Commonly confused: the pool boy or pool boy?
the pool boy vs pool boy
Not the same as "pool toy": a pool toy is an inflatable object for playing in the water.
Practice
Which sentence uses "the pool boy" correctly?
Choose one answer.
A pool boy is a young man who looks after a pool, so he can clean it. The other options describe a machine, a place to swim, or a stroke, none of which fit this noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “the pool boy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.