Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for body on Thesaurus.com the physical structure and material substance of an animal or plant, living or dead. a corpse; carcass. the trunk or main mass of a thing: the body of a tree. Anatomy , Zoology the physical structure of a human being or animal, not including the head, limbs, and tail; trunk; torso. Architecture the principal mass of a building. the section of a vehicle, usually in the shape of a box, cylindrical container, or platform, in or on which passengers or the load is carried. Nautical the hull of a ship. Aeronautics the fuselage of a plane. Printing the shank of a type, supporting the face. Geometry a figure having the three dimensions of length, breadth, and thickness; a solid. Physics a mass, especially one considered as a whole. the major portion of an army, population, etc.: The body of the American people favors the president's policy. the principal part of a speech or document, minus introduction, conclusion, indexes, etc. a person: She's a quiet sort of body. Law the physical person of an individual. a collective group: student body; corporate body. Astronomy an object in space, as a planet or star. a separate physical mass or quantity, especially as distinguished from other masses or quantities. consistency or density; richness; substance: This wine has good body. Wool has more body than rayon. the part of a dress that covers the trunk or the part of the trunk above the waist. Ceramics the basic material of which a ceramic article is made. Show More
verb (used with object), bod·ied, bod·y·ing. to invest with or as with a body. to represent in bodily form (usually followed by forth ). Show More
of or relating to the body; bodily. of or relating to the main reading matter of a book, article, etc., as opposed to headings, illustrations, or the like. Show More
in a body , as a group; together; collectively: We left the party in a body. keep body and soul together , to support oneself; maintain life: Few writers can make enough to keep body and soul together without another occupation. Show More
Origin of body before 900; Middle English; Old English bodig; akin to Old High German botah
Synonym study 1, 2 . Body, carcass, corpse, cadaver agree in referring to a physical organism, usually human or animal. Body refers to the material organism of an individual, human or animal, either living or dead: the muscles in a horse's body; the body of a victim ( human or animal ). Carcass refers only to the dead body of an animal, unless applied humorously or contemptuously to the human body: a sheep's carcass; Save your carcass. Corpse refers only to the dead body of a human being: preparing a corpse for burial. Cadaver refers to a dead body, usually a corpse, particularly one used for scientific study: dissection of cadavers in anatomy classes.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for bodies frame ,
carcass ,
torso ,
remains ,
party ,
individual ,
soul ,
person ,
box ,
material ,
skeleton ,
society ,
group ,
heart ,
shaft ,
embodiment ,
figure ,
form ,
makeup ,
tenement Examples from the Web for bodies Contemporary Examples of bodies He observes the bodies floating away on the river, pulling on his cigarette with a sneer.
Their bodies were later found incinerated and buried in mass graves outside of town.
Within hours, the Indonesian navy said dozens of bodies were being seen.
Hundreds of cops saluting as the bodies were rolled out with a full escort by highway patrol.
These women interred the bodies of saints on their own properties and occasionally managed to influence papal politics.
Historical Examples of bodies So soon as they reached it, Indians separated into two bodies .
The door was piled with bodies , and the stone floor was slippery with blood.
Girls and women are employed in examining the bodies of the moths with microscopes.
His body was laid away in the grave, where our bodies shall decay.
So that their bodies might rear up, and no man resist their attack.
British Dictionary definitions for bodies the entire physical structure of an animal or human being Related adjectives: corporeal, physical (as modifier ) body odour the flesh, as opposed to the spirit while we are still in the body the trunk or torso, not including the limbs, head, or tail a dead human or animal; corpse the largest or main part of anything the body of a vehicle ; the body of a plant a separate or distinct mass of water or land the main part; majority the body of public opinion the central part of a written work the body of a thesis as opposed to the footnotes a number of individuals regarded as a single entity; group the student body ; they marched in a body maths a three-dimensional region with an interior physics an object or substance that has three dimensions, a mass, and is distinguishable from surrounding objects fullness in the appearance of the hair the characteristic full quality of certain wines, determined by the density and the content of alcohol or tannin a Burgundy has a heavy body substance or firmness, esp of cloth the sound box of a guitar, violin, or similar stringed instrument a woman's close-fitting one-piece garment for the torso the part of a dress covering the body from the shoulders to the waist another name for shank (def. 11) the pigment contained in or added to paint, dye, etc the opacity of a paint in covering a surface the apparent viscosity of a paint (in watercolour painting) a white filler mixed with pigments to make them opaque (as modifier ) body colour See also gouache printing the measurement from top to bottom of a piece of type, usually ascender to descender an informal or dialect word for a person keep body and soul together to manage to keep alive; survive (modifier) of or relating to the main reading matter of a book as distinct from headings, illustrations, appendices, etc the body text Show More
verb bodies , bodying or bodied (tr) (usually foll by forth) to give a body or shape to Show More
Word Origin for body Old English bodig ; related to Old Norse buthkr box, Old High German botah body
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for bodies n. Old English bodig "trunk, chest" (of a man or animal); related to Old High German botah , of unknown origin. Not elsewhere in Germanic, and the word has died out in German (replaced by leib , originally "life," and körper , from Latin). In English, extension to "person" is from late 13c. Meaning "main part" of anything was in late Old English, hence its use in reference to vehicles (1520s).
Contrasted with soul since at least mid-13c. Meaning "corpse" (short for dead body ) is from late 13c. Transferred to matter generally in Middle English (e.g. heavenly body , late 14c.). Body politic "the nation, the state" first recorded 1520s, legalese, with French word order. Body image was coined 1935. Body language is attested from 1967, perhaps from French langage corporel (1966). Phrase over my dead body attested by 1833.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
The entire material or physical structure of an organism, especially of a human. The physical part of a person. A corpse or carcass. The trunk or torso of a human, as distinguished from the head, neck, and extremities. The largest or principal part, as of an organ; corpus. A physical thing or kind of substance. Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Idioms and Phrases with bodies In addition to the idioms beginning with body
also see:
keep body and soul together over my dead body Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President