chiefly British
as in laborer
a person who does very hard or dull work I worked for several years as a gofer and general dogsbody for a London publishing house

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of dogsbody Having progressed from bottle washing and being a general dogsbody to a youth strength and conditioning coach, Bunce served as Southampton’s head of athletic development between 2011 and 2014, working closely with youngsters such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Luke Shaw. Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 17 Dec. 2024 Mercedes is everybody’s dogsbody, at home and at work. Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2024 From 1938 to 1940 Nick Clifford was on Mount Rushmore, first as dogsbody and wood-chopper, then as labourer and winchman. The Economist, 1 Aug. 2019 Charley, who already has a casual job with Del (Steve Buscemi), a local horse trainer, now becomes his full-time dogsbody, or nagsbody—cleaning the stables, driving the truck, or walking Lean on Pete. Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dogsbody
Noun
  • Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the city has seen a decline in large scale construction projects, leaving many laborers without steady, long-term employment.
    Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Local 724, the Hollywood laborers’ group, in a landmark election that took place Friday.
    Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • After my long flight home, I was relieved that the late-night visitor turned out to be nothing more than city workers on the job (and their job in this case, while surprising, didn't turn out to be too destructive).
    Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 9 Sep. 2025
  • After California’s deal with Uber and Lyft, other states have moved forward with similar attempts to allow workers to unionize.
    Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2025

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“Dogsbody.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dogsbody. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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