Meaning & use
body
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Meanings
nouncountable
The whole physical form of a person or animal, with all its parts.
Grammar: Countable: a healthy body, our bodies.
Patterns
- the human body
- a part of the body
Regular exercise keeps your body strong.
The body needs water to function properly.
She felt a chill run through her whole body.
nouncountable
The dead physical remains of a person or animal.
Grammar: Countable: police found a body.
Patterns
- find a body
- identify the body
Police found a body in the river early this morning.
Relatives came to identify the body.
The body was returned to the family for burial.
nounsingular
The main or central part of something, as opposed to its edges or additions.
Grammar: Usually singular with the; followed by of: the body of the text.
Patterns
- the body of something
Put the details in the body of your essay, not the introduction.
The body of the plane was badly damaged.
The body of the email contained only two lines.
nouncountable
An organized group of people who work together or have official authority.
Grammar: Countable and often singular for a group: a governing body.
Patterns
- a body of people
- a governing body
The national governing body announced new rules.
A student body of five hundred attends the school.
The council is an elected body.
nounsingular
A large amount or collection of something, such as water, information or work.
Grammar: Followed by of: a body of water, a body of evidence.
Patterns
- a body of something
A large body of evidence supports the theory.
They swam across a small body of water.
She produced a remarkable body of work over thirty years.
Word forms
| plural | bodies |
|---|
Common combinations
- human body
- The human body is about sixty percent water.
- a governing body
- The governing body meets every month.
- body of water
- The lake is the largest body of water in the region.
- a body of evidence
- A growing body of evidence links sleep and memory.
- body language
- His body language showed he was nervous.
Synonyms and how they differ
- physique
- Physique refers to the shape and muscle of a person's body, especially when it looks strong.
- corpse
- Corpse always means a dead body, whereas body can also mean a living one.
- organization
- Organization names a group with a structure, while body stresses that it has formal authority.
- torso
- Torso is just the trunk of the body, not the head and limbs.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: body or bawdy?
body vs bawdy
Bawdy sounds alike in some accents but means humorously rude; it is unrelated to the body.
Practice
Which meaning of body is used in: The school's governing body met on Tuesday?
Choose one answer.
A governing body is a group of people with official authority. The other meanings do not describe a group that holds meetings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “body”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.