1
a
: in the flesh
b
: in a manner that involves physically moving someone's body
The blast lifted him bodily into the air.
Jerry Wexler called him a "parasite" and threw him bodily out of his office.—
Jack Kroll
Jack Kroll2
: as a whole : altogether
Examples of bodily in a Sentence
Adjective
The victim suffered serious bodily injury.
the old man suffered from a number of bodily ailments
Adverb
The blast lifted him bodily into the air.
The house will have to be moved bodily to the new site.
Recent Examples on the Web
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
The records also show Renfro is facing several other charges from previous cases, including assault causing bodily injury, assault causing bodily injury-family violence, evading arrest or detention, and continuous violence against the family.
—Doug Myers, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
Doug Myers, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
There is also growing interest in embodied cognition, the idea that bodily states influence mental processes.
—Atom Sarkar, The Conversation, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bodily
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Adjective
These stories make plain the bodily harm that crew members have routinely risked, and how these workers—whose enthusiasm for their work and for cinema itself is palpable—consider a profession whose hazards are not only physical but also psychological, professional, and familial.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
The records also show Renfro is facing several other charges from previous cases, including assault causing bodily injury, assault causing bodily injury-family violence, evading arrest or detention, and continuous violence against the family.
—Doug Myers, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
Adverb
The records also show Renfro is facing several other charges from previous cases, including assault causing bodily injury, assault causing bodily injury-family violence, evading arrest or detention, and continuous violence against the family.
—Doug Myers, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
There is also growing interest in embodied cognition, the idea that bodily states influence mental processes.
—Atom Sarkar, The Conversation, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bodily
Cite this Entry
“Bodily.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bodily. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
bodily
adjective
bodi·ly
ˈbäd-ᵊl-ē 
: of or relating to the body
bodily organs
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