body

UK: /ˈbɒdi/ US: /ˈbɑdi/ ,(bod′ē)

Inflections of 'body' (n): npl: bodies

Inflections of 'body' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

bodies

v 3rd person singular

bodying

v pres p

bodied

v past

bodied

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

bod•y /ˈbɑdi/   n., pl. bod•ies, adj. 
n. 

1. Anatomy [countable]
   • the complete structure of a person, animal, plant, or other organism.
   • Anatomy the main portion of a person or animal, comprising the trunk but not the head, arms, and legs.
   • , Anatomy, Zoology a corpse:
     The body was cremated.
2. Nautical, Aeronautics [countable] the main mass of a thing, as the hull of a ship or the section of a car in which passengers are carried.
3. Physics a mass, esp. one considered as a whole:
   [countable] Bodies in motion tend to stay in motion.
4. the principal part of a speech or document:
   [countable] You need an introduction and conclusion around the body of your essay.
5. [countable] an object in space, as a planet or star.
6. [countable] a group or organization: [the student body.]
7. a separate and distinct piece of matter:
   [countable] a foreign body in one's eye.
8. [uncountable] substance;
   consistency or richness:
   a wine with good body.
9. an amount or quantity of:
   [countable] several large bodies of water in that area.

adj. [before a noun]

10. of or relating to the body;
    bodily:
    body parts.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

bod•y  (bod′ē), n., pl. bod•ies, v., bod•ied, bod•y•ing, adj. 
n. 

1. Anatomy, Zoology the physical structure and material substance of an animal or plant, living or dead.
2. Anatomy, Zoology a corpse;
   carcass.
3. Architecture, the trunk or main mass of a thing:
   the body of a tree.
4. [Anat., Zool.] the physical structure of a human being or animal, not including the head, limbs, and tail;
   trunk;
   torso.
5. Architecture the principal mass of a building.
6. Transport 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, Naval Terms the hull of a ship.
8. Nautical, Aeronautics [Aeron.] the fuselage of a plane.
9. Printing the shank of a type, supporting the face. See diag. under type. 
10. Mathematics [Geom.] a figure having the three dimensions of length, breadth, and thickness;
    a solid.
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. the principal part of a speech or document, minus introduction, conclusion, indexes, etc.
14. a person:
    She's a quiet sort of body.
15. Law the physical person of an individual.
16. a collective group:
    student body; corporate body.
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. Clothing the part of a dress that covers the trunk or the part of the trunk above the waist.
21. Ceramics the basic material of which a ceramic article is made.
22. Idioms in a body, as a group;
    together;
    collectively:
    We left the party in a body.
23. Idioms keep body and soul together, to support oneself;
    maintain life:
    Few writers can make enough to keep body and soul together without another occupation.

v.t. 

24. to invest with or as with a body.
25. to represent in bodily form (usually fol. by forth).

adj. 

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.

• bef. 900; Middle English; Old English bodig; akin to Old High German botah

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.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

body / ˈbɒdɪ/ noun (bodies)

1. the entire physical structure of an animal or human being
2. (as modifier): body odour
3. the flesh, as opposed to the spirit
4. the trunk or torso, not including the limbs, head, or tail
5. a dead human or animal; corpse
6. the largest or main part of anything: the body of a vehicle, the body of a plant
7. a separate or distinct mass of water or land
8. a number of individuals regarded as a single entity; group: the student body, they marched in a body
9. fullness in the appearance of the hair
10. the characteristic full quality of certain wines, determined by the density and the content of alcohol or tannin
11. substance or firmness, esp of cloth
12. another name for shank11
13. the pigment contained in or added to paint, dye, etc
14. the opacity of a paint in covering a surface
15. (in watercolour painting) (as modifier): body colour
    See also gouache
16. an informal or dialect word for a person
17. keep body and soul together ⇒ to manage to keep alive; survive

verb (bodies, bodying, bodied)(transitive)

1. (usually followed by forth) to give a body or shape to

Etymology: Old English bodig; related to Old Norse buthkr box, Old High German botah body