Meanings
alternative atta boy · alternative ataboy · alternative thatta boy · alternative thattaboy
- colloquialidiomaticUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy, man, or male animal.
Attaboy! That's the way to hit a home run!
1 more example
[Steve] Bannon responded: “They went for an hour instead of 30 minutes--- showing the entire hour over multiple platforms.” [Jeffrey] Epstein shot back “atta boy”.
2025 November 14, Jason Wilson, quoting Jeffrey Epstein, “Jeffrey Epstein advised Steve Bannon during 2018 pro-Trump media campaign”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
plural attaboys · alternative atta boy · alternative ataboy · alternative thatta boy · alternative thattaboy
- A cry of encouragement; an accolade.
LOS ANGELES, June 29 — Drink in hand, attaboys coming at him from every direction, Tom DeSanto was living the fanboy dream.
2007 June 30, David M. Halbfinger, “How a Fan of Comic Books Transformed Himself Into a Hollywood Player”, in New York Times
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
A variant pronunciation of That's the boy!, a cry of encouragement, especially to children and pet dogs.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 好樣的 /好样的
- 好樣的 /好样的 (hǎoyàngde)Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
Finnish aika poika
- aika poikaUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
French bon gars, bravo
- bon garsUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
- bravoUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
German gut gemacht, guter Junge
- gut gemachtUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
- guter JungeUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
- Das ist mein Mann!Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
Irish maith mo ghasúr é
- maith mo ghasúr éUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
Italian bravo
- bravoUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
Japanese でかした, いいぞ
- でかした (dekashita)Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
- いいぞ (ii zo)Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
- うまいぞ (umai zo)Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
Lithuanian šaunuolis
- šaunuolisUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
Norwegian Bokmål flink gutt, flink bisk
- flink guttUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
- flink biskUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
Polish zuch chłopak
- zuch chłopakUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
Portuguese lindo menino
- lindo meninoUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
Russian молоде́ц, молодчи́на
- молоде́ц (molodéc)Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
- молодчи́на (molodčína)Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
- краса́вчик (krasávčik)Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
- молото́к (molotók)Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
- краса́ва (krasáva)Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
Spanish ¡bien hecho!
- ¡bien hecho!Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
Swedish heja
- hejaUsed to show encouragement or approval to a boy or a man
Cite this entry
attaboy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/attaboy
“attaboy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/attaboy. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “attaboy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/attaboy.
Source: attaboy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.