dogsbody
Americannoun
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dogsbody
First recorded in 1810–20; originally a junior naval officer, earlier a sailor's term for soaked sea biscuits or pease pudding
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.
Moore, 65, says he was a "general dogsbody" at Legacy.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
Aiding everyone is Lisa Kwak as The Mute, a sort of onstage stagehand and dogsbody who distributes props as needed, moves set pieces and generally keeps the show moving.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 1, 2024
Shelley is forbearance personified but she’s tired of being taken by Mira “for a dogsbody, a beta fish, a bridesmaid, a ride-along.”
From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2023
Powell stayed at Duckworth’s, as an all-purpose dogsbody, for ten mostly unhappy years.
From The New Yorker • Nov. 5, 2018
I was the dogsbody of the defence team, fetching books and herding witnesses.
From The Guardian • May 26, 2018
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.
