body count

noun

1. the number of soldiers killed in a specific period or in a particular military action.

   The daily body count increased as the war went on.

Word History and Origins

Origin of body count¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

As Soviet spy Philip Jennings on “The Americans,” Rhys stood fast in his character’s compassion for others despite his escalating body count.

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He said more than seven million deaths a year were down to tobacco -- an "entirely preventable" body count.

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Serial killers’ aberrant psychopathy and body count make them novel.

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A morgue visit elicits disinterest and little more than a body count, with Sara wondering if “ten makes a massacre. I only counted six.”

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That the United States once again is reeling from familiar but alarming headlines and body counts should not be a surprise by now.

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Related Words

• census