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body

[bod-ee]
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noun, plural bod·ies.
  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.
  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.
  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. 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), bod·ied, bod·y·ing.
  1. to invest with or as with a body.
  2. to represent in bodily form (usually followed by forth).
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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.
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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.
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Origin of body

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

Synonyms

See more synonyms for body on Thesaurus.com
3. substance, bulk. 12. mass, group, throng, multitude; bulk, preponderance, majority.

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.

Antonyms

12. handful, scattering, few.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for body

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Exhausted in mind and body, she could not long endure this tide of recollection.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • I have never seen the soul withdrawn without a struggle with the body.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • When the soul was again led into the body, it related all that had happened to it.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • I asked, 'Is this the divine home, whence I departed into the body?'

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • His eyes were closed, his face a dead, chalky white, and his body hung limp.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for body

body

noun plural bodies
    1. the entire physical structure of an animal or human beingRelated adjectives: corporeal, physical
    2. (as modifier)body odour
  2. the flesh, as opposed to the spiritwhile 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 anythingthe body of a vehicle; the body of a plant
  6. a separate or distinct mass of water or land
  7. the main part; majoritythe body of public opinion
  8. the central part of a written workthe body of a thesis as opposed to the footnotes
  9. a number of individuals regarded as a single entity; groupthe 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 tannina 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 (def. 11)
    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. (in watercolour painting)
    1. a white filler mixed with pigments to make them opaque
    2. (as modifier)body colour See also gouache
  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. keep body and soul together 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, etcthe body text
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verb bodies, bodying or bodied (tr)
  1. (usually foll by forth) to give a body or shape to
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Word Origin

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 body

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
body in Medicine

body

(bŏd′ē)
n.
  1. The entire material or physical structure of an organism, especially of a human.
  2. The physical part of a person.
  3. A corpse or carcass.
  4. The trunk or torso of a human, as distinguished from the head, neck, and extremities.
  5. The largest or principal part, as of an organ; corpus.
  6. A physical thing or kind of substance.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Idioms and Phrases with body

body

In addition to the idioms beginning with body

also see:

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.