body snatcher

American  

noun

1. a person who steals corpses; graverobber.

2. Slang. an agency that recruits executives working for one company to fill top management positions in another.

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body snatcher British  

noun

1. (formerly) a person who robbed graves and sold the corpses for dissection

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Other Word Forms

• body snatching noun

Etymology

Origin of body snatcher

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

“If I asked for decaf or, heaven forbid, to put anything in my coffee — cream or any sweetener — they would know for sure that a body snatcher had taken over my body,” wrote Claudia.

From Washington Post

Former dental surgeon Michael Mastromarino was nicknamed “body snatcher” by the tabloids after he was charged with stealing tissue and bone from more than 1,000 corpses that sold for transplant and research.

From Fox News

One such body snatcher bill, Senate Bill 54, was introduced in February 2017.

From Washington Times

“Father Thing” Another episode that’s overly generic, drawing on the usual “body snatcher” clichés.

From The Verge

The movie’s attitude toward its subject is essentially that of a body snatcher, assuming its victim’s outer form in order to destroy it from within.

From Los Angeles Times