body count

noun

1

: a count of the bodies of killed enemy soldiers

2

: the number of persons involved in a particular activity

Examples of body count in a Sentence

The rising body count fueled opposition to the war.

Recent Examples on the Web

When the Vietnam era brought a fog of governmental dissembling and a mounting body count, the magazine, with writers such as Jonathan Schell and Frances FitzGerald, was equipped to play a role as clear-eyed witness. —David Remnick, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025

Of all the Stunt Awards categories, Best Shootout conjures the most consistent expectations: lots and lots of guns, meticulously choreographed bullet sprays, high body count. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025

As so often happens in war, the enemy remains faceless, its deaths a mere body count. —Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2025

How can a story justify that approach to a character whose violence reaches a body count in the millions? —Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for body count

• rediscount
• subaccount
• tantamount
• undercount
• account
• amount
• discount
• dismount
• recount
• remount
• seamount
• surmount