PBY means: , a flying boat and amphibious aircraft.. It is military jargon and mostly appears in service contexts, war fiction, or among veterans and their families. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
PBY
(US, _, military) , a flying boat and amphibious aircraft.
Definitions
(US, _, military) , a flying boat and amphibious aircraft.
Anyway, he saw us and come in low and three hours later, a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up.
PBY means: , a flying boat and amphibious aircraft.. It is military jargon and mostly appears in service contexts, war fiction, or among veterans and their families. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
PBY means: , a flying boat and amphibious aircraft.. Register: informal, military jargon. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself. A formal-English equivalent (a synonym or descriptive phrase) is usually safer in writing. When in doubt, paraphrase rather than reuse the slang form.
Comments
For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Used in
Have a better definition?
Add your own interpretation of "PBY".
⚡About Tech, Dev & AI slang
The vocabulary of software engineers, AI researchers, and anyone living in a terminal or on GitHub — from LLM to MCP, CORS to vibe coding, agentic to enshittification.
See all Tech, Dev & AI slang on Slangora.
Tags
Other words near "PBY" (P)
Browse all slang words starting with P.
Related terms
People also read
Semantically related
- patrol bomber63%
(US, _, military) A maritime patrol aircraft.
- patrol bomber60%
Patrol bomber is a US military designation for a type of aircraft designed to combine long-range maritime surveillance with offensive strike capability — essentially a warplane that could fly out over vast stretches of ocean, hunt enemy submarines or ships, and attack them directly. The term was especially prominent during World War II, where patrol bombers like the PBY Catalina played a critical role in the Battle of the Atlantic. It's an older classification largely replaced by modern maritime patrol aircraft.
- PT boat57%
(military, US) A type of fast motor torpedo boat used by the US Navy during World War II.
- flyboy57%
(aviation, slang) An aircraft pilot, especially of a military combat aircraft.
- CB55%
(military, historical) The United States Navy hull classification symbol for a large cruiser.