body

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
body/ˈbɒdi/

▶noun (pl. bodies)

• 1 the physical structure, including the bones, flesh, and organs, of a person or animal.

  ■ the trunk apart from the head and the limbs.

  ■ a corpse.

  ■ informal, dated a person.

• 2 the main or central part of something: the main body of the text.

  ■ a mass or collection: a large body of water.

• 3 an organized group of people with a common function: a regulatory body.

• 4 technical a material object.

• 5 a full flavour in wine.

  ■ fullness of a person's hair.

• 6 Brit. a woman's close-fitting stretch garment for the upper body, usually fastening at the crotch.

▶verb (bodies, bodying, bodied) (body something forth) formal give material form to something abstract.

– phrases
in a body as a group.
keep body and soul together stay alive in difficult circumstances.
over my dead body informal used to express strong opposition.

– derivatives
-bodied adjective.

– origin OE bodig, of unknown origin.