body

body
bod‧y S1 W1 /ˈbɒdi $ ˈbɑːdi/ noun (plural bodies)
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 dead¹(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.