body politic

American  

noun

Political Science.

1. a people regarded as a political body under an organized government.

---

body politic British  

noun

1. the people of a nation or the nation itself considered as a political entity; the state

---

Etymology

Origin of body politic

1425–75; late Middle English bodi politik

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

body politic

It was the most extreme expression of a wound to the body politic that has been allowed to fester.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 14, 2025

For example, the Vietnam War wound down and no longer was this gaping wound on the body politic.

From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2025

“If we possess anything important in our citizenship, it’s the ability to vote and to participate in the body politic of our localities in our nation,” Lacy said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2024

After the war ended, it resumed and became ever stronger in the Confederate portion of the body politic.

From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2024

Through The Mecca I saw that we were, in our own segregated body politic, cosmopolitans.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates