body

BAH-dee/ˈbɑ.di/BO-dee/ˈbɒd.i/

21 meanings of body

1
physical formnouncountable
The whole physical form of a person or animal, sometimes set against the mind or soul.
Like a machine made of many parts that all work together.
Exercise keeps your body strong and healthy.
Divers train their bodies to handle the pressure deep underwater.
Similarframe
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2
organizationnouncountable or uncountable
A group of people who work or act together, often as an official group.
Like a team chosen to make rules for everyone.
The student council is a body that speaks for all the pupils.
A new body was set up to check food safety.
UsageOften a governing body: a group in charge.
Similarorganization, agency, authority, group, association
3
corpsenouncountable
A dead person's whole physical form.
Police found a body near the river.
The bodies were buried after the battle.
Similarcorpse, remains, cadaver
4
nouncountable or uncountable
The main and biggest part of something, not its smaller added parts.
Like the main box of a gift, not the ribbon and bow on top.
The body of the plane was damaged, but the wings were fine.
Most of the heat comes from the main body of the stove.
Similarshell, bodywork
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5
torsonouncountable or uncountable
The main middle part of a person or animal, not counting the arms, legs, and head.
The vest covered his body but left his arms bare.
Our puppy has a white body and four brown legs.
Similartorso, trunk
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6
objectnouncountable
A separate physical object or mass, such as a planet, or a solid shape like a cube.
Like a ball, a rock, or anything else you can hold and feel.
A falling body speeds up as it drops.
The planets and other bodies orbit the sun.
Similarobject, mass
7
set of factsnouncountable or uncountable
A large set of facts or knowledge about a subject, or all the works one person has made.
Like all the pieces of a puzzle put together into one picture.
Scientists have built up a large body of evidence about climate.
Her body of work includes ten novels.
UsageOften a body of evidence or body of work.
Similarcollection, corpus, mass
8
expansenouncountable or uncountable
A large amount of something gathered together, such as water.
Like all the rain collecting into one big pond.
A lake is a large body of water.
Ships crossed the wide body of water at night.
UsageOften a body of water: a lake, sea or river.
Similarexpanse, mass, stretch
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Less common meanings

9
main textnouncountable or uncountable
The main part of a letter, message, or piece of computer code, not counting the headings or other extras.
Like the main story in a newspaper, not the date at the top.
She read the body of the email but skipped the signature.
Put your main points in the body of the letter.
Similartext, content
10
thickness (liquids)noununcountable
A full, thick, or strong quality that something like wine, hair, or cloth has.
Like how a milkshake feels thicker and fuller in your mouth than plain water.
A good olive oil has body and feels thick on the tongue.
This juice has no body and tastes watery and weak.
UsageOften has body or lacks body.
Similarrichness, fullness, substance
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11
personnoundatedcountable or uncountable
A person, often said in a warm, old-fashioned way.
She is a cheerful body who loves to chat with everyone.
Cobb Belcher's downstairs. He wants to buy you a beer. Says a body who can whip his brother Dell must be a body worth knowing.
1995, Cyberflix, Dust: A Tale of the Wired WestHere, body means a person, in an informal or old-fashioned way.
Similarsoul, person
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12
make fullerverbtransitive
To give shape or fullness to something.
Like adding stuffing to a pillow to make it full and round.
Paint makers heat the oil to body it and make it thicker.
Slow heating bodied the oil until it was thick and sticky.
Similarfill
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13
make realverbtransitive
To give a real, living form to an idea or feeling.
Like an actor turning written words into a living person on stage.
Her songs body forth the hope of a whole town.
In his poems, the sea bodies forth his loneliness.
Similarembody, express, incarnate, represent
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14
thrashverbslangtransitive
To beat someone completely in a game or contest.
Like winning a race so easily that no one else comes close.
He totally bodied me in that video game.
Our team will body anyone who challenges us.
UsageOften got bodied: lost badly.
Similardestroy, crush, thrash, trounce, demolish
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15
nounUKcountablebritish
A tight one-piece top, like a leotard, that fastens between the legs.
She wore a black body with her jeans to the party.
This body has poppers at the bottom, so it stays tucked in all day.
UsageIn American English, people say bodysuit.
Similarbodysuit
16
build car shellverbtransitive
To build the outer metal shell of a car.
Like building the metal skin that covers a car's frame.
A small workshop bodied the race car by hand in aluminum.
The new fire truck was bodied at a small local shop.
17
oppressed personnouncountable or uncountable
A human being thought of as someone who is treated unfairly or pushed aside.
The class talked about how disabled bodies are treated in public places.
She said every queer body deserves to feel safe in public.
UsageUsually Black bodies or queer bodies, mostly in academic writing.
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18
murderverbslangtransitive
To kill or murder a person.
The gang threatened to body him over the missing money.
Someone bodied two men outside the club that night.
Similarkill, murder, waste, ice, smoke
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19
main hall (church)nouncountable or uncountable
The main open middle part of a church, where people sit.
Like the main hall of a large building where most people gather.
People gathered in the body of the church for the wedding.
The body of the chapel felt cool and silent.
UsageUsually the body of the church.
Similarnave
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20
dress topnounarchaiccountable or uncountable
The part of a dress that covers from the neck down to the waist, without the arms.
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21
printing typenouncountable or uncountable
The small metal block that holds one printing letter and sets its size.
Like the wooden block that a rubber stamp is mounted on.
Each letter sat on a metal body cast to an exact size.
The printer chose a larger body for the bold headline.
Similarshank
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Practice

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Origin

From Old English bodiġ, meaning body or trunk. It goes back to an old Germanic word.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Body derives from Old English bodiġ. en.wiktionary.org
Old English bodiġ meant body or trunk. en.wiktionary.org
Bodiġ derives from an older Germanic word. en.wiktionary.org