body language

noun

: the gestures, movements, and mannerisms by which a person or animal communicates with others

Example Sentences

We could tell from his body language that he was nervous.

Recent Examples on the Web

Master Body Language To be approachable, introverted leaders must master body language. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023

Sometimes our intuition can give us clues; strange body language, inconsistencies in what people tell us, or their behavior. —Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 14 Apr. 2023

Jeff’s question remains rhetorical and the audience is left to assume that Jeff takes whatever Shauna says (verbally or in body language) at face value and accepts her all the same. —Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Apr. 2023

And why was her tribe so terrible at reading body language? —Dalton Ross, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2023

Her nuanced performance, all about looks and body language, is all the more remarkable for Hussein’s almost complete ignorance of the medium. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 17 Feb. 2023

Anyone walking into one of Eggleston’s pictures would be sized up, shunned, or accepted, according to elaborate codes of body language, clothing, race, gender, and age. —Vulture, 6 Jan. 2023

The best that senior aides could do was to try to read Mr. Putin’s body language. —Thomas Gibbons-neff, New York Times, 16 Dec. 2022

This includes hand gestures, body language, sounds, cultural norms and more. —Daryl Perry, USA TODAY, 26 Oct. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

body language

noun

: movements (as with the hands) or posture used as a means of expression