body politic

American

noun

Political Science.

a people regarded as a political body under an organized government.

body politic British

noun

the people of a nation or the nation itself considered as a political entity; the state

"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 politic

1425–75; late Middle English bodi politik

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.

It was the most extreme expression of a wound to the body politic that has been allowed to fester.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 14, 2025

For example, the Vietnam War wound down and no longer was this gaping wound on the body politic.

From Slate • Sep. 12, 2025

That’s unhealthy for the body politic — and for voters themselves.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2024

And it has survived to some degree for more than 150 years, tucked into the cracks of our body politic.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 21, 2024

His silence on the slavery question was strategic, believing as he did that slavery was a cancer on the body politic of America that could not at present be removed without killing the patient.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023