body blow

[ bod-ee bloh ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Boxing. a blow driven to the opponent's body between the breastbone and the navel.
any action that causes severe damage, losses, etc.:
Our business received a body blow in the recession.

body blow

noun

Also calledbody punch boxing a blow to the body of an opponent
a severe disappointment or setback
unavailability of funds was a body blow to the project

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Word History and Origins

Origin of body blow¹

First recorded in 1785–95

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Idioms and Phrases

An action that causes severe damage, as in This last recession dealt a body blow to our whole industry . This term comes from boxing, where since the 18th century it has been used to refer to a punch that is landing between the opponent's chest and navel. [c. 1900]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Their last-gasp defeat at Middlesbrough on Friday was a body blow to their hopes of staying up, and they could be all but extinguished if results go against them on Monday.

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One of its activists, Jane Fae, told the BBC the judgement felt like a physical body blow, and that it was as if trans people were being excluded from society.

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If England's confidence was low given their form coming into the tournament – four series defeats in a row and losses in 10 of their past 14 ODIs – this will feel like a body blow.

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And I’ll just repeat, I am from the DOJ and I want to say that within the DOJ this is a body blow, it’s going to hurt them all, to go before judges.

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If City had gone out, it would have ended a run of 11 successive seasons in which they have reached the knockout stage - anything else would have been a severe body blow to the pride and status of a club who cherish their place at Europe's top table.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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