Meanings
plural theyfriends
- neologismA non-binary partner in an unmarried romantic relationship.
Janithor is my non-binary theyfriend [title] […] so prwned^([sic])
2021 October 21, Skeeter, “Janithor is my non-binary theyfriend”, in alt.slack (Usenet)2 more examples
She'd never had a boyfriend or girlfriend or theyfriend, not in her entire life.
2018, Talia Hibbert, Wanna Bet? (Dirty British Romance; 2), [United Kingdom]: Nixon House, →ISBN"And I know as soon as I get in it'll be all 'Do you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a theyfriend?'" Olivia sighs. "And my high school squad is going to be even worse."
2022, Anna Meriano, “Just Tell Them You Play Soccer”, in Laura Silverman, editor, Game On: 15 Stories of Wins, Losses, and Everything in Between, New York, N.Y.: Viking, →ISBN, page 196Synonyms: enbyfriend, joyfriend
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA non-binary partner in an unmarried romantic relationship.
Origin
From they + friend, modelled after boyfriend and girlfriend.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish kumppani
- kumppaninon-binary partner in an unmarried romantic relationship
French copaine
- copainenon-binary partner in an unmarried romantic relationship
Korean 그 친구
- 그 친구 (geu chingu)non-binary partner in an unmarried romantic relationship
Portuguese namorade
- namoradenon-binary partner in an unmarried romantic relationship
Cite this entry
theyfriend. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/theyfriend
“theyfriend.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/theyfriend. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “theyfriend,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/theyfriend.
Source: theyfriend on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.