body

noun (plural bodies)

• 1the physical structure of a person or an animal, including the bones, flesh, and organs:it’s important to keep your body in good condition [as modifier]:body temperature
• the trunk apart from the head and the limbs:the blow almost severed his head from his body
• a corpse:they found his body washed up on the beach
• the physical and mortal aspect of a person as opposed to the soul or spirit:a duality of body and soul
• informal a person’s body regarded as an object of sexual desire:he was just after her body
• informal dated a person, often one of a specified type or character:a motherly body

• 2the main section of a car or aircraft:the body of the aircraft was filled with smoke

• 3the main or central part of something, especially a building or text:information that changes regularly is kept apart from the main body of the text
• the part of an e-mail containing the message, as opposed to information such as the subject and sender:put your name, address, and daytime phone number in the e-mail’s bodyCompare with header (sense 4).

• 4a large or substantial amount of something; a mass or collection of something:a rich body of Canadian folklore large bodies of seawater
• a group of people with a common purpose or function acting as an organized unit:a regulatory body international bodies of experts

• 5 [often with adjective] technical a distinct material object:the path taken by the falling body

• 6a full or substantial quality of flavor in wine.
• fullness or thickness of a person’s hair:designed to add body to limp and straight hair

• 7(in pottery) a clay used for making the main part of ceramic ware, as distinct from a glaze.

verb (bodies, bodying, bodied)

• 1 (body something forth) give material form to something abstract:he bodied forth the traditional Prussian remedy for all ills

• 2build the bodywork of (a motor vehicle):an era when automobiles were bodied over wooden frames