attaboy

• atta boy, ataboy, thatta boy, thattaboy

A variant pronunciation of That's the boy!, a cry of encouragement, especially to children and pet dogs.

• IPA^(key): /ˈætəˌbɔɪ/

• Audio (General Australian):

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• Audio (US):

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attaboy

1. (idiomatic, colloquial) Used to show encouragement or approval to a boy, man, or male animal.

   Attaboy! That's the way to hit a home run!

   • 2025 November 14, Jason Wilson, quoting Jeffrey Epstein, “Jeffrey Epstein advised Steve Bannon during 2018 pro-Trump media campaign”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     [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”.

attaboy (plural attaboys)

1. A cry of encouragement; an accolade.
   • 2007 June 30, David M. Halbfinger, “How a Fan of Comic Books Transformed Himself Into a Hollywood Player”, in New York Times‎^[2]:

     LOS ANGELES, June 29 — Drink in hand, attaboys coming at him from every direction, Tom DeSanto was living the fanboy dream.