Definition of 'body'
Word forms: plural bodies
2. countable noun
You can also refer to the main part of your body, except for your arms, head, and
legs, as your body.
5. countable noun
A body of people is a group of people who are together or who are connected in some way.
6. singular noun
The body of something such as a building or a document is the main part of it or the largest
part of it.
7. countable noun
8. countable noun
9. countable noun
A body of information is a large amount of it.
An increasing body of evidence suggests that all of us have cancer cells in our bodies
at times during our lives. [+ of]
10. uncountable noun
12. See also foreign body, heavenly body
13.
14.
See body and soul
15.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
body in British English
nounWord forms: plural bodies
1.
a.
the entire physical structure of an animal or human being
▶ Related adjectives: corporeal, physicalb.
(as modifier)
body odour
4.
a dead human or animal; corpse
5.
the largest or main part of anything
the body of a vehicle
the body of a plant
6.
a separate or distinct mass of water or land
8.
the central part of a written work
the body of a thesis as opposed to the footnotes
9.
a number of individuals regarded as a single entity; group
the student body
they marched in a body
11. physics
an object or substance that has three dimensions, a mass, and is distinguishable from surrounding objects
12.
fullness in the appearance of the hair
13.
the characteristic full quality of certain wines, determined by the density and the content of alcohol or tannin
a Burgundy has a heavy body
14.
substance or firmness, esp of cloth
16.
a woman's close-fitting one-piece garment for the torso
18. another name for shank (sense 11)
19.
a.
the pigment contained in or added to paint, dye, etc
b.
the opacity of a paint in covering a surface
20. (in watercolour painting)
23. See keep body and soul together
24. (modifier)
of or relating to the main reading matter of a book as distinct from headings, illustrations, appendices, etc
the body text
verbWord forms: bodies, bodying, bodied (transitive)
25. (usually foll by forth)
to give a body or shape to
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin
Old English bodig; related to Old Norse buthkr box, Old High German botah body
Word Frequency
body in American English
nounWord forms: plural ˈbodies
1.
the whole physical structure and substance of a human being, animal, or plant
2.
a.
the trunk or torso of a human being or animal
b.
the part of a garment that covers the trunk
3.
a dead person; corpse
4.
the flesh or material substance, as opposed to the spirit
5. Informal
a human being; person
6.
a group of people or things regarded or functioning as a unit
a body of soldiers, an advisory body
7.
the majority of a number of people or things
8.
the main or central part of anything
; specif.,a.
the part of an automobile, truck, etc. that holds the load or passengers; the part of a vehicle that is not the chassis
b.
the hull of a ship
c.
the fuselage of an aircraft
d.
the main part of a piece of writing as distinguished from headings and introductory or supplementary matter
e.
the sound box of a stringed instrument
9.
anything having real or material substance or form; any physical or perceptible object
10.
the sun, moon, planets, stars, etc. are celestial bodies
12.
substance, density, or consistency, as of a liquid or fabric
13.
richness or fullness of tone or flavor
14. Law
a person or something legally regarded as a person
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈbodied or ˈbodying
SYNONYMY NOTE: body refers to the whole physical substance of a person or animal, whether dead or alive; corpse and the euphemistic remains refer to a dead human body; carcass is used of the dead body of an animal or, contemptuously, of a human being; cadaver refers primarily to a dead human body used for medical dissection16.
to give a body or substance to; make substantial
17.
to make part of; embody
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin
ME bodi, bodig < OE bodig, trunk, chest, orig. sense “cask,” akin to MLowG boddike, tub for brewing, OHG botah; prob. < It bottega, shop < L apotheca: see apothecaryWord Frequency
body in American English
(ˈbɑdi) (noun plural bodies, verb bodied, bodying)
noun
1.
the physical structure and material substance of an animal or plant, living or dead
2.
a corpse; carcass
3.
the trunk or main mass of a thing
the body of a tree
4. Anatomy & Zoology
the physical structure of a human being or animal, not including the head, limbs,
and tail; trunk; torso
6.
the section of a vehicle, usually in the shape of a box, cylindrical container, or platform, in or on which passengers or the load is carried
7. Nautical
the hull of a ship
8. Aeronautics
the fuselage of a plane
9. Printing
the shank of a type, supporting the face
11. Physics
a mass, esp. one considered as a whole
12.
the major portion of an army, population, etc.
The body of the American people favors the president's policy
13.
14.
a person
She's a quiet sort of body
15. Law
the physical person of an individual
17. Astronomy
an object in space, as a planet or star
18.
a separate physical mass or quantity, esp. as distinguished from other masses or quantities
19.
consistency or density; richness; substance
This wine has good body
Wool has more body than rayon
20.
the part of a dress that covers the trunk or the part of the trunk above the waist
22. See in a body
23. See keep body and soul together
adjective
SYNONYMS 1, 2. body, carcass, corpse, cadaver agree in referring to a physical organism, usually human or animal. body refers to the material organism of an individual, human or animal, either living
or dead: the muscles in a horse's body; the body of a victim (human or animal). carcass refers only to the dead body of an animal, unless applied humorously or contemptuously
to the human body: a sheep's carcass; Save your carcass. corpse refers only to the dead body of a human being: preparing a corpse for burial. cadaver refers to a dead body, usually a corpse, particularly one used for scientific study:
dissection of cadavers in anatomy classes. 3. substance, bulk. 12. mass, group, throng, multitude; bulk, preponderance, majority.ANTONYMS 12. handful, scattering, few.26.
of or pertaining to the body; bodily
27.
of or pertaining to the main reading matter of a book, article, etc., as opposed to
headings, illustrations, or the like
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[bef. 900; ME; OE bodig; akin to OHG botah]Examples of 'body' in a sentence
body
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Quotations
The human body is the best picture of the human soulPhilosophical Investigations
What we think and feel and are is to a great extent determined by the state of our ductless glands and our visceraMusic at Night
Body and spirit are twins: God only knows which is which:
The soul squats down in the flesh, like a tinker drunk in a ditchThe Heptalogia
The soul squats down in the flesh, like a tinker drunk in a ditchThe Heptalogia
diaphragm: a muscular partition separating disorders of the chest from disorders of the bowelsThe Devil's Dictionary
body
articles of clothing articles of clothing underwearQuick word challenge
Quiz Review
Question: 1
-
Score: 0 / 5
Which article of clothing am I?
a large pouch, usually of fur, worn hanging from a belt in front of the kilt in men's Scottish Highland dress
Which article of clothing am I?
a long coatlike garment, usually worn with a belt and made of rich fabric, worn in the East
Which article of clothing am I?
a woman's light dressing gown, esp one that is lace-trimmed
Which article of clothing am I?
a garment made of knitted or crocheted material covering the upper part of the body, esp a heavy one worn for warmth
Your score:
Vocabulary Builder
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In other languages
body
British English: body
/ˈbɒdɪ/ NOUN
Your body is all your physical parts, including your head, arms, and legs.
My whole body hurt.
- American English: body /ˈbɒdi/
- Arabic: جِسْم
- Brazilian Portuguese: corpo
- Chinese: 身体
- Croatian: tijelo
- Czech: tělo
- Danish: krop
- Dutch: lichaam
- European Spanish: cuerpo
- Finnish: keho
- French: corps
- German: Körper
- Greek: σώμα
- Italian: corpo
- Japanese: 体
- Korean: 몸
- Norwegian: kropp
- Polish: ciało
- European Portuguese: corpo
- Romanian: corp
- Russian: тело
- Latin American Spanish: cuerpo
- Swedish: kropp
- Thai: ร่างกาย
- Turkish: beden
- Ukrainian: тіло
- Vietnamese: cơ thể
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Definition of body from the Collins English Dictionary
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