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.

See Examples For:

body politic

You can see something similar in the body politic, when the sudden appearance of something new and confusing kicks societal defenses into overdrive.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

Propaganda, he argues, could be a tool to regulate and benefit the body politic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

All of this is a horror show for our body politic.

From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026

We are affirmed in the knowledge that we are the body politic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025

The body politic was so disordered that all government seemed suspended.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

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