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body-search

American  
[bod-ee-surch] / ˈbɒd iˌsɜrtʃ /

verb (used with object)

  1. to search all parts of the body of.

    Police ordered the suspects to strip and then body-searched them for hidden caches of narcotics.
body search British  

noun

  1. a form of search by police, customs officials, etc, that involves examination of a prisoner's or suspect's bodily orifices

"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

verb

  1. (tr) to search (a prisoner or suspect) in this manner

"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

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.

A Justice Department lawyer argued Monday that a new body-search policy for prisoners at Guantanamo Bay did not restrict inmates’ access to lawyers.

From Washington Post • Dec. 13, 2013

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.