body count

noun

1
: a count of the bodies of killed enemy soldiers
2
: the number of persons involved in a particular activity

Examples of body count in a Sentence

The rising body count fueled opposition to the war.
Recent Examples on the Web The obituaries always contained the body count of how many Christians each jihadi had killed. Andrew Doran, National Review, 12 Nov. 2023 This week, the department publicly released information on the eight cases, communicating for the first time the victim identities and circumstances in previously uncounted killings — and adding to the city’s mounting body count. Peter Hermann, Washington Post, 28 Sep. 2023 Through a series of increasingly bad decisions that hilariously upend the once-peaceful community, the multiple characters all plot and scheme to stay alive, while the body count rises. Nick Clement, Variety, 1 Nov. 2023 The body count—if that is to be the measure of retribution—has mounted far beyond the level required for an equality of suffering. Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 31 Oct. 2023 Throw in the prospect of stealing millions from the crumbling enterprise’s coffers and the stakes and body count only rise. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2023 Yet his body count can’t even come close to the Oxycontin scourge. Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 10 Aug. 2023 It has long been speculated that the body count in the properly was much higher. Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 24 Sep. 2023 However, his complete lack of body count in Annabelle Comes Home doesn’t speak well of him. Vulture, 15 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'body count.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of body count was in 1962

Dictionary Entries Near body count

Cite this Entry

“Body count.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/body%20count. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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