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Synonyms

body double

American

noun

a person whose body is shown in a movie or TV show in substitution for a leading actor, especially in a nude scene.

body double British

noun

films a person who substitutes for a star for the filming of a scene that involves shots of the body rather than the face

"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

Etymology

Origin of body double

1990–95

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.

Brendon's twin brother Kelly Donovan Schultz also stood in as his brother's body double in two episodes of Buffy.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026

Certainly being the body double for Todd helped sell Indy’s naturally loving performance.

From Salon • Oct. 3, 2025

Walz, who was slightly nervous and entirely sincere, seemed to be debating a body double.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 2, 2024

And that she was most definitely not replaced by a body double named Melissa Vandella after dying more than 20 years ago.

From New York Times • May 17, 2024

“My mom was a body double for Taylor Swift. I won a drawing contest in third grade. I once ate a plastic SpongeBob SquarePants.”

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

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.