bod|ice /bɒ d I s/ (bodices ) N‑COUNT The bodice of a dress is the part above the waist. □ …a dress with a fitted bodice and circle skirt.
bo d|ice rip|per (bodice rippers ) N‑COUNT You can refer to a film or novel which is set in the past and which includes a lot of sex scenes as a bodice ripper , especially if you do not think it is very good and is just intended to entertain people. [DISAPPROVAL ]
bo dice-ripping ADJ [ADJ n] A bodice-ripping film or novel is one which is set in the past and which includes a lot of sex scenes. You use this word especially if you do not think it is very good and is just intended to entertain people. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …bodice-ripping yarns on TV.
bodi|ly /bɒ d I li/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] Your bodily needs and functions are the needs and functions of your body. □ There's more to eating than just bodily needs.
2 → see also grievous bodily harm
3 ADV [ADV with v] You use bodily to indicate that an action involves the whole of someone's body. □ I was hurled bodily to the deck.
bo di|ly fu nc|tion (bodily functions ) N‑COUNT A person's bodily functions are the normal physical processes that regularly occur in their body, particularly the ability to urinate and defecate. □ The child was not able to speak, walk properly or control bodily functions.
body ◆◆◆ /bɒ di/ (bodies )
1 N‑COUNT Your body is all your physical parts, including your head, arms, and legs. □ The largest organ in the body is the liver.
2 N‑COUNT You can also refer to the main part of your body, except for your arms, head, and legs, as your body . □ Lying flat on the floor, twist your body on to one hip and cross your upper leg over your body.
3 N‑COUNT You can refer to a person's dead body as a body . □ Officials said they had found no traces of violence on the body of the politician.
4 N‑COUNT A body is an organized group of people who deal with something officially. □ …the Chairman of the police representative body, the Police Federation. □ …the main trade union body, COSATU, Congress of South African Trade Unions.
5 N‑COUNT A body of people is a group of people who are together or who are connected in some way. □ [+ of ] …that large body of people which teaches other people how to teach.
6 N‑SING The body of something such as a building or a document is the main part of it or the largest part of it. □ [+ of ] The main body of the church had been turned into a massive television studio.
7 N‑COUNT The body of a car or aeroplane is the main part of it, not including its engine, wheels, or wings. □ [+ of ] The only shade was under the body of the plane.
8 N‑COUNT A body of water is a large area of water, such as a lake or a sea. □ [+ of ] It is probably the most polluted body of water in the world.
9 N‑COUNT A body of information is a large amount of it. □ [+ of ] An increasing body of evidence suggests that all of us have cancer cells in our bodies at times during our lives.
10 N‑UNCOUNT If you say that an alcoholic drink has body , you mean that it has a full and strong flavour. □ …a dry wine with good body.
11 → see also foreign body , heavenly body COLLOCATIONS body NOUN 4
noun + body : government, industry, tourism, trade; review
adjective + body : independent, professional, public, representative; advisory, governing, regulatory, ruling, statutory
verb + body : create, establish, set up
bo dy ar|mour in AM, use body armor N‑UNCOUNT Body armour is special protective clothing which people such as soldiers and police officers sometimes wear when they are in danger of being attacked with guns or other weapons.
bo dy bag (body bags ) N‑COUNT A body bag is a specially designed large plastic bag which is used to carry a dead body away, for example when someone has been killed in an accident or in battle. □ …the prospect of young soldiers coming home in body bags.
bo dy blow (body blows ) also body-blow N‑COUNT A body blow is something that causes great disappointment and difficulty to someone who is trying to achieve something. □ His resignation was a body blow to the team.
body|builder /bɒ dib I ldə r / (bodybuilders ) also body builder N‑COUNT A bodybuilder is a person who does special exercises regularly in order to make his or her muscles grow bigger.
body|building /bɒ dib I ld I ŋ/ also body building N‑UNCOUNT Bodybuilding is the activity of doing special exercises regularly in order to make your muscles grow bigger.
bo dy clock (body clocks ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] Your body clock is the internal biological mechanism which causes your body to automatically behave in particular ways at particular times of the day. □ Jet lag is caused because the body clock does not readjust immediately to the time change.
body|guard /bɒ digɑː r d/ (bodyguards ) N‑COUNT A bodyguard is a person or a group of people employed to protect someone. □ Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. □ The King had brought his own bodyguard of twenty armed men.
bo dy lan|guage also body-language N‑UNCOUNT Your body language is the way in which you show your feelings or thoughts to other people by means of the position or movements of your body, rather than with words.
bo dy mass in|dex N‑SING A person's body mass index is a measurement that represents the relationship between their weight and their height. [MEDICAL ] □ …those with a body mass index of 30 and over.
bo dy odour in AM, use body odor N‑UNCOUNT Body odour is an unpleasant smell caused by sweat on a person's body.