body bag

noun

|Updated on: 19 Jun 2018

Definition of body bag

: a large zippered bag (as of rubber or vinyl) in which a human corpse is placed especially for transportation

See body bag defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of body bag from the Web

There were a lot of body bags; 58,000 troops died during the Vietnam War.

— denise coffey, Courant Community, "Veterans Remember Their Fallen Comrades," 4 June 2018
International agencies are sending protective equipment for health workers, body bags to enable safe burials, chlorine-spraying equipment, water treatment kits and medicines.

— nick cumming-bruce, New York Times, "Fears of Larger Contagion as Ebola Spreads to Major Congo City," 17 May 2018
There were heads bound with yellow duct tape along major boulevards, and bodies bagged in cobalt plastic or strewn with cardboard signs.

— Time, "A New Netflix Series Tells the Story of the Philippines' Drug War. But Its Critics Are Condemning Amo as Propaganda," 30 Apr. 2018
The sight of sidewalks littered with red body bags will not be easily forgotten.

— michael taube, WSJ, "A Terrible Day for ‘Toronto the Good’," 24 Apr. 2018
This week, a band of young volunteers wearing plastic gloves worked amid the rubble, pulling corpses cut in half out from under piles of bricks and putting them into white body bags.

— balint szlanko, Fox News, "1,000 bodies of militant fighters buried in Mosul mass grave," 13 Apr. 2018
Abby's departure after a 15-season run was planned, but Clayton's exit in a body bag was an unexpected plot twist that got lost in the hype of actress Pauley Perrette leaving the long-running crime drama.

— faith karimi, CNN, "How this 'NCIS' actor's role mirrored real life," 10 May 2018
The entire outfit was a total knock-out, but what caught the attention of most Markle style followers was the future Duchess' black-and-white stripped cross-body bag, credited to the relatively-unknown (at least in America) Australian brand, Oroton.

— megan decker, Harper's BAZAAR, "Meghan Markle May Have Just Saved This Brand From Going Bankrupt," 19 Apr. 2018
His festival attire involved Vetements socks (no shoes!), a pink bucket hat, a bandanna (noticing a trend yet?), a Gucci cross-body bag, and a Hawaiian-print shirt with matching shorts.

— liz raiss, GQ, "All the Wildest Looks from Coachella 2018," 17 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'body bag.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.