body

American  

[bod-ee] / ˈbɒd i /

noun

• bodies
  plural

1. the physical structure and material substance of an animal or plant, living or dead.

2. a corpse; carcass.

3. the trunk or main mass of a thing.

   the body of a tree.

   Synonyms:

   bulk, main

4. Anatomy, Zoology. the physical structure of a human being or animal, not including the head, limbs, and tail; trunk; torso.

5. Architecture. the principal mass of a building.

6. 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.

7. Nautical. the hull of a ship.

8. Aeronautics. the fuselage of a plane.

9. Printing. the shank of a type, supporting the face.

10. Geometry. a figure having the three dimensions of length, breadth, and thickness; a solid.

11. Physics. a mass, especially one considered as a whole.

12. the major portion of an army, population, etc..

    The body of the American people favors the president's policy.

    Synonyms:

    majority, preponderance, multitude, throng, group, mass

    Antonyms:

    few, scattering, handful

13. the principal part of a speech or document, minus introduction, conclusion, indexes, etc.

14. a person.

    She's a quiet sort of body.

15. Law. the physical person of an individual.

16. a collective group.

    student body;

    corporate body.

17. Also called heavenly body.  Astronomy. an object in space, as a planet or star.

18. a separate physical mass or quantity, especially as distinguished from other masses or quantities.

19. consistency or density; richness; substance.

    This wine has good body.

    Wool has more body than rayon.

20. the part of a dress that covers the trunk or the part of the trunk above the waist.

21. Ceramics. the basic material of which a ceramic article is made.

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verb (used with object)

• bodies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bodied,
  past participle,  past
• bodying
  present participle

1. to invest with or as with a body.

2. to represent in bodily form (usually followed byforth ).

adjective

1. of or relating to the body; bodily.

2. of or relating to the main reading matter of a book, article, etc., as opposed to headings, illustrations, or the like.

idioms

1. in a body, as a group; together; collectively.

   We left the party in a body.

2. keep body and soul together, to support oneself; maintain life.

   Few writers can make enough to keep body and soul together without another occupation.

body British  

/ ˈbɒdɪ /

noun

1. 1. the entire physical structure of an animal or human being

   2. ( as modifier )

      body odour

2. the flesh, as opposed to the spirit

   while we are still in the body

3. the trunk or torso, not including the limbs, head, or tail

4. a dead human or animal; corpse

5. the largest or main part of anything

   the body of a vehicle

   the body of a plant

6. a separate or distinct mass of water or land

7. the main part; majority

   the body of public opinion

8. the central part of a written work

   the body of a thesis as opposed to the footnotes

9. a number of individuals regarded as a single entity; group

   the student body

   they marched in a body

10. maths a three-dimensional region with an interior

11. physics an object or substance that has three dimensions, a mass, and is distinguishable from surrounding objects

12. fullness in the appearance of the hair

13. the characteristic full quality of certain wines, determined by the density and the content of alcohol or tannin

    a Burgundy has a heavy body

14. substance or firmness, esp of cloth

15. the sound box of a guitar, violin, or similar stringed instrument

16. a woman's close-fitting one-piece garment for the torso

17. the part of a dress covering the body from the shoulders to the waist

18. another name for shank

19. 1. the pigment contained in or added to paint, dye, etc

    2. the opacity of a paint in covering a surface

    3. the apparent viscosity of a paint

20. 1. a white filler mixed with pigments to make them opaque

    2. ( as modifier ) See also gouache

       body colour

21. printing the measurement from top to bottom of a piece of type, usually ascender to descender

22. an informal or dialect word for a person

23. to manage to keep alive; survive

24. (modifier) of or relating to the main reading matter of a book as distinct from headings, illustrations, appendices, etc

    the body text

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verb

1. (usually foll by forth) to give a body or shape to

body More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing body

• keep body and soul together
• over my dead body

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Synonym Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bodies
  plural

Participles

• bodying
  present
• bodied
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• body
  simple
• bodies
  simple
• have bodied
  perfect
• has bodied
  perfect
• am bodying
  progressive
• are bodying
  progressive
• is bodying
  progressive
• have been bodying
  perfect progressive
• has been bodying
  perfect progressive

Past

• bodied
  simple
• had bodied
  perfect
• was bodying
  progressive
• were bodying
  progressive
• had been bodying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will body
  simple
• will have bodied
  perfect
• will be bodying
  progressive
• will have been bodying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of body

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English bodig; akin to Old High German botah

Explanation

Your body is everything that makes up your physical self, including your skin, bones, muscles, and organs. Your whole body might hurt after a day spent learning to snowboard. All animals have a body, and you can also describe some inanimate objects as having a body. For example, a car's body is its main section, mostly made of metal and plastic. A written work's body is the major part of a text, generally not including things like introductions or epilogues. In science, a body is simply any separate object that has mass. The Old English root, bodig, means "man or animal's trunk or chest."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

body bodies bodied bodying

It wasn’t great on the body, but yeah, I’ve had a lot of experience running.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

"We were able to find the body; some people couldn't. And that seems even sadder to me," she said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

Mohsen Rezaei, who led the Revolutionary Guard during the war with Iraq in the 1980s, was named secretary of Iran’s top decision-making body, the Supreme National Security Council, where he will be Khamenei’s representative.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

That social comparison driven by Instagram was linked to "increased loneliness, worse body image, and negative mood or affect", according to Meta's internal research.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

I had to take off my shirt and place the thermometer between my arm and the side of my body.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Hammerheads stand out from other shark species by the distinctive shape of their heads, which stick out perpendicular to their bodies in the shape of, well, a hammer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

The observations revealed a chemical makeup unlike anything previously identified among bodies in the outer solar system.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

Sheets, backpacks, and outstretched bodies transform the emblematic seafront promenade into an open-air dormitory for a few hours.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

While others burned brightly for a short time before being betrayed by their bodies, he was a picture of consistency through the early days of his career.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Fins flapping, tentacles trailing behind them, their long bodies were flashing bright red in a way that meant, “Swim for your lives!”

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

Their ancient relatives were likely similar in being soft bodied marine organisms.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2026

But Colón’s instrumental preference changed once he heard the bodied timbre of Mon Rivera’s all-trombone brass lineup marching to a bomba beat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2026

He bodied down a redirected shot and Raymond didn’t hesitate to chase down the remains.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 19, 2024

And if I can do the same for other people whether they're disabled or able bodied whether that's in the film industry or in other aspects in life.

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2023

Unlike the long-limbed, long­ bodied animals of the south that are cooled by dis­pensing heat on extended surfaces, all live things in the Arctic tend toward compactness, to conserve heat.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

“I thought they really started bodying us on drives, bumping us on drives,” Willard said.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 8, 2023

Morgan controlled an overhead ball by bodying defender Clare Polkinghorne.

From Reuters ● Apr. 5, 2019

Notice the toughnesss--not just Iguodala and Green, but Barnes, Livingston, even Curry bodying up on Lebron?

From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2016

There is no other singer I can think of who is better or more practiced at bodying existential duress.

From The New Yorker ● May 5, 2016

In the novel or drama, the writer is able not only to enact his visions of life in the imagination, but, by bodying them forth in external words and acts, to possess them for reflection.

From The Principles of Aesthetics by Dewitt H. Parker

Related Words

• carcass
• dead body
• remains