body man
Americannoun
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a male personal assistant to a politician, who, in addition to handling daily schedule and travel logistics, serves as a constant companion and attends to the politician’s immediate personal needs.
Balancing an armful of papers, the body man ducked into a shop that sold the candidate’s preferred energy drink.
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a person who repairs and refinishes the bodies of cars, trucks, and other vehicles.
Etymology
Origin of body man
First recorded in 1915–20 body man for def. 2, and in 2000–05 body man for def. 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There was no staff member closer to the former president than Band, his so-called body man during Clinton's second term.
From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026
County, served as Ohtani’s body man and de facto manager in Southern California, helping the star navigate an unfamiliar language and country.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2024
One video shows the outcome of a friendly wager: “Told the body man that if I get a million views on the shop TikTok, I get to touch his beard and he said “sure.”
From Seattle Times • Mar. 5, 2023
I realize that sentence sounds made up, but, thanks to good timing, dumb luck and a previous life as a politician’s body man, it’s true.
From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2022
On the death of the natural body, man rises again in a spiritual body, and according to the quality of his life here, lives in happiness or in misery hereafter.
From The Religious Life of London by Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.