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Synonyms

body snatcher

American  

noun

  1. a person who steals corpses; graverobber.

  2. Slang. an agency that recruits executives working for one company to fill top management positions in another.


body snatcher British  

noun

  1. (formerly) a person who robbed graves and sold the corpses for dissection

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of body snatcher

First recorded in 1805–15

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.

See Examples For:

Wait a second, how do we know you’re not an alien body snatcher pretending to be Jimmy!?

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2022

Is she a well-meaning lonely soul or some kind of malevolent body snatcher?

From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2021

One such body snatcher bill, Senate Bill 54, was introduced in February 2017.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 28, 2018

The movie’s attitude toward its subject is essentially that of a body snatcher, assuming its victim’s outer form in order to destroy it from within.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2016

In exchange for tuition relief and a place to work—the late-night shift was quiet and conducive to study—the school got someone to admit the body snatcher.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

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