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body man

American  
[bod-ee man] / ˈbɒd i ˌmæn /

noun

  1. a male personal assistant to a politician, who, in addition to handling daily schedule and travel logistics, serves as a constant companion and attends to the politician’s immediate personal needs.

    Balancing an armful of papers, the body man ducked into a shop that sold the candidate’s preferred energy drink.

  2. a person who repairs and refinishes the bodies of cars, trucks, and other vehicles.


Etymology

Origin of body man

First recorded in 1915–20 body man for def. 2, and in 2000–05 body man for def. 1

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:

There was no staff member closer to the former president than Band, his so-called body man during Clinton's second term.

From BBC Feb. 26, 2026

County politics for a decade, including serving as a body man for Antonio Villaraigosa during his failed gubernatorial campaign, Flores moved to Huntington Park in 2018.

From Los Angeles Times May 1, 2025

One video shows the outcome of a friendly wager: “Told the body man that if I get a million views on the shop TikTok, I get to touch his beard and he said “sure.”

From Seattle Times Mar. 5, 2023

“Usually the body man would have brought them upstairs for Trump or someone from the outer-Oval at the end of the day. They would get handed off to the residence and just disappear.”

From Washington Post Aug. 27, 2022

When it is merely a question of keeping life in the body, man and beast alike prove that but little is required.

From Round the World by Carnegie, Andrew

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