bod ‧ y S1 W1 /ˈbɒdi $ ˈbɑːdi/ BrE AmE noun ( plural bodies )
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: bodig ]
1 . PEOPLE/ANIMALS [countable] the physical structure of a person or animal:
the human body
My fingers were numb and my whole body ached.
body weight/temperature/size
Your body temperature is higher in the daytime than at night.
For their body size, these birds lay very small eggs.
He needs to overcome a negative body image (=what you think about your own body) .
2 . DEAD PERSON [countable] the dead body of a person:
A dog found the body of a girl in the woods.
3 . GROUP [countable] a group of people who work together to do a particular job or who are together for a particular purpose:
The British Medical Association is the doctors’ professional body.
body of
There were reports of a large body of armed men near the border.
Kaplan served on the governing body of the museum (=the group who control the museum) .
The student body (=all the students in a school or college) numbers 5,000.
The research will be used by government departments and other public bodies (=groups whose work is connected to the government) .
in a body (=as a group, together)
The women moved towards the building in a body.
4 . body of something
a) a large amount or mass of something, especially something that has been collected
body of knowledge/evidence/opinion etc
There is now a considerable body of knowledge of the different stages of childhood.
There is a growing body of evidence that charges are too high.
b) the main, central, or most important part of something:
The arguments are explained in the body of the text.
Leave three blank lines between the date and the body of the letter.
5 . body of water a large area of water such as a lake:
The city was built near a large body of water.
6 . MIDDLE PART [countable] the central part of a person or animal’s body, not including the head, arms, legs, or wings:
Nick had bruises on his face and body.
The bird has a small body and long wings.
7 . VEHICLE [countable] the main structure of a vehicle not including the engine, wheels etc:
Workers at the factory are making steel bodies for cars.
8 . OBJECT [countable] technical an object that is separate from other objects:
Keep the caps on the bottles to prevent foreign bodies entering them (=objects that should not be there) .
⇨ heavenly body at ↑ heavenly (3)
9 . HAIR [uncountable] if your hair has body, it is thick and healthy:
This shampoo will give more body to your hair.
10 . TASTE [uncountable] if food or an alcoholic drink has body, it has a strong ↑ flavour (=taste) :
A small amount of tomato paste will give extra colour and body to the sauce.
11 . full/medium/light-bodied used to describe how much taste an alcoholic drink has, with a full bodied drink having the strongest taste:
a full bodied wine
12 . long/thick etc -bodied having a long, thick etc body:
a slim bodied orange-gold fish
⇨ ↑ able-bodied
13 . keep body and soul together to continue to exist with only just enough food, money etc:
He’s working at the shop to keep body and soul together.
14 . body and soul
a) completely:
She threw herself body and soul into her work.
b) the whole of a person:
They think they own the employees, body and soul.
15 . INSTRUMENT [countable] the wide part of a musical instrument such as a ↑ violin or ↑ guitar , or of a sports ↑ racket (=bat) :
The guitar is 16 inches wide across the body.
16 . CLOTHING [countable] British English a type of tight-fitting shirt worn by women that fastens between their legs SYN body suit American English
⇨ over my dead body at ↑ dead 1 (11)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ the human body
There are billions of cells in an adult human body.
▪ the female/male body
his drawings of the female body
▪ the upper/lower body
Slowly raise your upper body into a sitting position.
▪ sb’s whole body
Her whole body froze with fear.
■ body + NOUN
▪ body weight
You have exactly the right body weight for your height.
▪ body temperature
Exercise will raise your body temperature.
▪ body size/shape
differences in body size and shape
▪ body fluids
Replace your body fluids by drinking lots of water.
▪ body fat
Males have less body fat than females.
▪ body language (=the movements and expressions that show what you feel)
Nervousness is usually clearly expressed in body language.
▪ body image (=what you think you look like)
People tend to have their own body image fixed in their minds.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ body the shape, size, and appearance of someone’s body:
Many women are not happy with their bodies.
|
His clothes emphasized his strong body.
▪ figure a woman’s figure is the shape of her body – used especially when it is attractive:
She has a really nice figure.
|
Freya had an enviably slim figure.
▪ build the size and shape of someone’s body – used in the following phrases:
Police described the man as tall and of medium build.
|
He was of heavy build.
|
She has a very slight build.
▪ physique the size and appearance of someone’s body – used especially about men who look attractive:
He was over 1.8 m tall with a muscular physique.
|
Ben has a very athletic physique.
■ a dead body
▪ body noun [countable] the dead body of a person:
Her body was discovered at the bottom of a cliff.
|
Firefighters found the body of a woman in the house.
▪ corpse noun [countable] the dead body of a person. Corpse is is used when you are thinking about the body as an object rather than a person:
Pathologists examined the corpse.
▪ carcass noun [countable] the dead body of an animal:
a whale carcass
|
The carcasses of the infected animals were burned.
▪ remains noun [plural] parts of a dead person or animal, especially when they died a long time ago:
Police found human remains under the floorboards of the house.