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Glite Dictionary
🚗 Vehicle shell 💆 Therapeutic massage
bodywork

bodywork

5 5.0
The outer metal shell and panels of a car or the work of fixing them
  • noun
  • /ˈbɑdiˌwɜrk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : carrocería
  • The mechanic recommended replacing the damaged bodywork after the accident to restore the car's appearance.

Not a window left, big poles put through the bodywork, interiors ripped, just totally wrecked in one night.

Examples

  • I'll sort out your bodywork for you.

    Cassandra's Dream (2007)

  • American assembled, so some of the bodywork doesn't quite align, but I guess it's within specs.

    Blog text (24)

  • Yeah, yeah, I did all the bodywork over the last couple of months.

    American Heist (2014)

  • And actually, the frame seemed to look quite nice with that bodywork.

    Blog text (34)

  • As no bodywork modifications are required, the car can easily be returned to standard when the time comes to sell.

    Blog text (12)

  • The former ambulance still needs some slight bodywork, modifications for the organization's needs, and a paint job.

    Blog text (19)

  • In this case, the bodywork of my Rolls Royce is 18-carat gold.

    Goldfinger (1964)

  • The owner stripped the bodywork to bare metal and purposely allowed it to rust.

    Blog text (30)

  • Some dings, the bodywork wasn't perfect, the chrome has some flaws, etc.

    Blog text (19)

  • The new, sporty look can be seen in each stylistic element of the GranCabrio MC's bodywork.

    Blog text (14)

Synonyms

body
vsbodywork
358 3.4

The main part of a thing, not its attachments

refers specifically to the outer shell and panels and to making or repairing them

Surface Forms

bodywork singular
bodyworks plural

Morphology

bodywork = body + work (semi-transparent) = body + work

The components 'body' + 'work' are clear, but the specialized automotive sense 'the outer shell/panels of a vehicle' is a technical extension not automatically inferred by all learners.

Etymology

Bodywork is simply body + work, literally 'work on the body'. For cars, the 'body' is the outer shell and panels, so bodywork means the car's outside parts or the repairs done to them.