body corporate

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablelegallawbusiness

   an organization, such as a company or council, that the law treats as a single person with its own rights and duties.

   Grammar: Countable: you can say a body corporate or several bodies corporate.

   Patterns

   • a body corporate
   • bodies corporate
   • form a body corporate

   The apartment owners set up a body corporate to manage the shared garden and lifts.

   Under the contract, any body corporate that breaks the rules must pay a fine.

   A company becomes a body corporate as soon as it is registered.

2. 2nouncountablelegalBritish

   a group of people who act together as one official unit, especially in local government.

   Grammar: Used mainly in British English for public bodies such as a city corporation.

   Patterns

   • a municipal body corporate
   • the body corporate of a city

   The city is governed by a body corporate made up of elected members.

   The ancient borough still exists as a body corporate with ceremonial duties.

Word forms

Common combinations

form a body corporate

The residents voted to form a body corporate for the building.

bodies corporate

The law applies to companies and other bodies corporate.

a body corporate is liable

If the lift breaks, the body corporate is liable for repairs.

register as a body corporate

The club registered as a body corporate last year.

Synonyms and how they differ

corporation

Common in American English and business contexts; body corporate is the precise legal term.

legal entity

A wider term that includes partnerships and trusts, not only incorporated bodies.

Opposites

Word family

corporate adjective

relating to a large company or group.

incorporate verb

to form a company with its own legal identity.

Commonly confused: body corporate or corporation?

Practice

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