e-boyfriend
Internet slang for a romantic partner whom you know primarily or exclusively through online interaction — someone you've never met in person or whose relationship with you exists mainly via DMs, video calls, and social media.
Etymology timeline
Born ~2010 · no dated citations yetDefinitions
Internet slang for a romantic partner whom you know primarily or exclusively through online interaction — someone you've never met in person or whose relationship with you exists mainly via DMs, video calls, and social media. 'E-boyfriend' carries a tone that ranges from sincere to ironic depending on context: some people use it earnestly for long-distance online relationships, while others use it self-deprecatingly or humorously. The 'e-' prefix (short for 'electronic' or 'internet') mirrors the pattern of 'e-girl,' 'e-boy,' and related terms from internet culture.
She spent most of the summer texting her e-boyfriend, even though they lived in different countries and had never met face to face.
Comments
(internet slang) An internet boyfriend.
"e-boyfriend" means: An internet boyfriend.. This is informal slang, common in casual speech, texting and social media, but not appropriate for school work, applications or professional settings. There is no real cause for concern in itself; it is everyday peer vocabulary. If your child uses it, a light comment about audience and register is usually enough — no need to escalate. Context, more than the word, tells you whether to follow up.
"e-boyfriend" means: An internet boyfriend.. Register: informal slang, fine in casual conversation, texting and social media but not in academic essays, business writing or formal speech. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
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- e-boy74%
(internet slang) A male member of the e-girl/e-boy subculture which emerged in the late 2010s, characterized by emo- and grunge-inspired fashion, and by heavy use of social media platforms (notably TikTok).
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(internet slang) An e-boy or e-girl.
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(slang) A girlfriend with whom one communicates only or primarily online.
- boyfu62%
(Internet slang) A feminine male fictional character or non-fictional persona to whom one is romantically attracted and/or whom one considers one's significant other.