Boy Scout

noun

1. a member of an organization of boys BoyScouts, founded in England in 1908 by Lieutenant General Sir Robert S. S. Baden-Powell, that seeks to develop certain skills in its members, as well as character, self-reliance, and usefulness to others.
2. (lowercase) a member of any similar society elsewhere.
3. (lowercase) Sometimes Disparaging. a person whose deeds, obliging personality, idealism, etc., exceed normal expectations.

boy scout

noun

1. See Scout
2. informal.
   an apparently virtuous and innocent person

Sensitive Note

Use of boy scout to mean “someone who is obliging and idealistic” usually implies that the person is naive or unworldly.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Boy Scout¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

He joined the Boy Scouts and attended school through eighth grade and worked for a year as a bar boy at Ye Olde Town Tavern.

From Los Angeles Times

Inside, a photograph that identified her as the show’s “stunt mistress” showed her guiding a blindfolded Boy Scout as he tried to identify an elephant.

From New York Times

The intimate portrait is helmed by Irene Taylor, an Oscar-nominated director whose previous projects include such subjects as deafness, forests and the history of the Boy Scouts.

From Los Angeles Times

The friend said the pair had planned to ski or snowboard from the “notch,” a flat area where climbers often stop to rest, down to their camp at Upper Boy Scout Lake.

From Seattle Times

In 2017, it made the historic announcement that girls would be accepted as Cub Scouts as of 2018 and two years later, into the flagship Boy Scout program — renamed Scouts BSA.

From Seattle Times