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
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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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This was a very common patriotic project for volunteer laborers in late‑war Japan—especially among those either too old or too young to perform more demanding and exacting full‑time war plant work.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Aug. 2025
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However, in contrast to the vision of free yeoman workers, historians have found that most laborers who arrived on the first ships were either indentured to individual masters or bound by some other kind of contract that limited their freedom.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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The trust fund used to make up the difference between what workers are paying in and what Social Security pays out in benefits is projected to run out of money in nine years.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Aug. 2025
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Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images In one of the world’s most expensive cities, more workers are living paycheck to paycheck The Singapore consumer’s reputation for financial prudence and high savings is showing signs of strain.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
14 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dogsbody.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dogsbody. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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