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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The big body blow for the ECB, BCCI and cricket’s global appeal has already been delivered with the consecutive retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli earlier in the month. Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025 Remember the body blow of injustice, and don’t get mad — get hungry. Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 9 May 2025 Australia hasn’t been subject to the body blows that Mr. Trump has delivered to other longstanding U.S. allies, and that have become a factor in at least one recent election — like threatening Canada’s sovereignty and calling into doubt the future of military alliances with Europe. Victoria Kim, New York Times, 4 May 2025 What the Trump administration is doing with funding is a body blow to American science, but doesn’t have to be a fatal one. Bryan Walsh, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018 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 30 May. 2025.

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