body blow

noun

1
: a blow to the body
2
: a damaging or deeply felt blow
an economic body blow

Examples of body blow in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Arie Garcia-Evans and her Waubonsie Valley basketball teammates were on the ropes after absorbing more than a few literal body blows against Bolingbrook in the Class 4A sectional semifinals on Tuesday. Matt Le Cren, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025 Stevenson dropped Padley three times in the ninth round with body blows before his corner threw in the towel. Trent Reinsmith, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025 And naturally, the nightmare of sitting under the bleachers next to Michaels as one of your babies falls flat on its face during the Saturday-night dry run is like a devastating body blow to the ego. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2025 And losing a place where people can hear or perform live music is a body blow to the vibrancy everyone seems to want downtown. Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 14 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for body blow

Word History

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of body blow was in 1788

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Cite this Entry

“Body blow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/body%20blow. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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