body Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the entire structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
    organic structure; physical structure.
    • he felt as if his whole body were on fire
  2. noun a group of persons associated by some common tie or occupation and regarded as an entity
    • the whole body filed out of the auditorium
    • the student body
    • administrative body
  3. noun a natural object consisting of a dead animal or person
    dead body.
    • they found the body in the lake
  4. noun an individual 3-dimensional object that has mass and that is distinguishable from other objects
    • heavenly body
  5. noun the body excluding the head and neck and limbs
    torso; trunk.
    • they moved their arms and legs and bodies
  6. noun a collection of particulars considered as a system
    • a body of law
    • a body of doctrine
    • a body of precedents
  7. noun the property of holding together and retaining its shape
    consistence; eubstance; consistency.
    • wool has more body than rayon
    • when the dough has enough consistency it is ready to bake
  8. noun the central message of a communication
    • the body of the message was short
  9. noun the main mass of a thing
  10. noun a resonating chamber in a musical instrument (as the body of a violin)
    soundbox.
  11. noun the external structure of a vehicle
    • the body of the car was badly rusted
  12. verb invest with or as with a body; give body to
    personify.

WordNet

Bod"y noun
Etymology
OE. bodi, AS. bodig; akin to OHG. botah. Cf. Bodice.
Wordforms
plural Bodies
Definitions
  1. The material organized substance of an animal, whether living or dead, as distinguished from the spirit, or vital principle; the physical person.
    Absent in body, but present in spirit. 1 Cor. v. 3
    For of the soul the body form doth take. For soul is form, and doth the body make. Spenser.
  2. The trunk, or main part, of a person or animal, as distinguished from the limbs and head; the main, central, or principal part, as of a tree, army, country, etc.
    Who set the body and the limbs Of this great sport together? Shak.
    The van of the king's army was led by the general; . . . in the body was the king and the prince. Clarendon.
    Rivers that run up into the body of Italy. Addison.
  3. The real, as opposed to the symbolical; the substance, as opposed to the shadow.
    Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Col. ii. 17.
  4. A person; a human being; -- frequently in composition; as, anybody, nobody.
    A dry, shrewd kind of a body. W. Irving.
  5. A number of individuals spoken of collectively, usually as united by some common tie, or as organized for some purpose; a collective whole or totality; a corporation; as, a legislative body; a clerical body.
    A numerous body led unresistingly to the slaughter. Prescott.
  6. A number of things or particulars embodied in a system; a general collection; as, a great body of facts; a body of laws or of divinity.
  7. Any mass or portion of matter; any substance distinct from others; as, a metallic body; a moving body; an aëriform body. "A body of cold air." Huxley.
    By collision of two bodies, grind The air attrite to fire. Milton.
  8. Amount; quantity; extent.
  9. That part of a garment covering the body, as distinguished from the parts covering the limbs.
  10. The bed or box of a vehicle, on or in which the load is placed; as, a wagon body; a cart body.
  11. (Print.) The shank of a type, or the depth of the shank (by which the size is indicated); as, a nonpareil face on an agate body.
  12. (Geom.) A figure that has length, breadth, and thickness; any solid figure.
  13. Consistency; thickness; substance; strength; as, this color has body; wine of a good body. ✍ Colors bear a body when they are capable of being ground so fine, and of being mixed so entirely with oil, as to seem only a very thick oil of the same color.
Bod"y transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Bodied (); present participle & verbal noun Bodying
Definitions
  1. To furnish with, or as with, a body; to produce in definite shape; to embody.

Webster 1913