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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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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
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
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May 1 became associated with workers' rights in 1886 when hundreds of thousands of laborers in Chicago participated in a multi-day strike to push for an eight-hour workday.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
2 May 2025
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Their demands included wage increases, an end to outsourcing, and stronger protections for both domestic and migrant laborers.—
Thomas Adamson and Yuri Kageyama,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2025
Noun
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Mental health workers in small towns find such promises hard to trust after seeing local services come and go for years.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2025
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At the same time that Bass is proposing cuts to the Equity Bureau, her budget calls for an overall increase in Fire Department workers.—
Noah Goldberg,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dogsbody.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dogsbody. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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