body blow

American  

[bod-ee bloh] / ˈbɒd i ˌbloʊ /

noun

1. Boxing. a blow driven to the opponent's body between the breastbone and the navel.

2. any action that causes severe damage, losses, etc..

   Our business received a body blow in the recession.

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body blow British  

noun

1. Also called: body punch.  boxing a blow to the body of an opponent

2. a severe disappointment or setback

   unavailability of funds was a body blow to the project

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body blow Idioms  

1. An action that causes severe damage, as in This last recession dealt a body blow to our whole industry. This term comes from boxing, where since the 18th century it has been used to refer to a punch that is landing between the opponent's chest and navel. [c. 1900]

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Etymology

Origin of body blow

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

The team's body blow was one which left home supporters stunned as Newcastle fell to a damaging 3-2 defeat.

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026

“Yet another body blow from the pounding relentlessness of the back-to-back-to-back-to-back fires,” he writes.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 5, 2026

Coming as it did on the heels of the Covid-19 pandemic, the soaring prices and supply chain delays felt like a body blow.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2025

It ultimately led to her release, but you’ve covered a lot of judicial proceedings, and you clearly experienced this as something akin to a body blow.

From Slate • May 21, 2025

That’s a body blow to my whole body: the lower half that wanted this and the upper half that warned me about it.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini