bodice

noun

bod·​ice ˈbä-dəs 

1

: the upper part of a woman's dress

2

archaic : corset, stays

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The Fashionable History of Bodice

The term bodice is derived from body. One sense of the word body is “the part of a garment covering the body or trunk.” In the 17th and 18th centuries a woman’s corset was often called a “pair of bodies.” The plural bodies, or bodice, was eventually interpreted as a singular. Bodice is now most often used to refer to the upper part of a woman’s dress.

Learn more about bodice history

Examples of bodice in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Her bodice-ripping, visually sumptuous version, in theaters Friday, incorporates some essential literary elements, but also imagines what’s in between the lines of Brontë’s writing, including sultry moments between the protagonists. —Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026

Additional coquettish details came from ruffles at the bodice of the dress and lace peeking above the neckline. —Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 11 Feb. 2026

Wuthering Heights has the tunnel-vision horniness and girlish aesthetic sensibility of a high-school freshman who’s been assigned to read Brontë in class while tearing through a pile of explicit bodice-rippers under the covers at home. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2026

O’Hara made her final red carpet appearance last September, posing at the 2025 Emmys with her husband Bo Welch and The Studio co-stars in a long black gown with a dramatic peplum detail and rhinestones encrusted along her neckline and bodice. —Lara Walsh, InStyle, 9 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

alteration of bodies, plural of body entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1567, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing bodice

• bodice ripper

Rhymes for bodice

• addis
• goddess

Kids Definition

bodice

noun

bod·​ice ˈbäd-əs 

: the upper part of a dress