If you’re writing every body, it does not mean everybody.
Every body refers to all those of a particular type, event, organization, group, etc. If you want to indicate a general sort of all the people, then everybody is appropriate.
| Using every body |
|---|
| Every body is talking.
Eeek! How can corpses possibly talk!?!?!?! |
| As opposed to everybody |
| Everybody is talking.
Ooh, gossip… |
Curious About Other Everys?
If you’re curious about other every closed compound words, you may want to check out “Every Day versus Everyday“, “Every Man versus Everyman“, “Every One versus Everyone“, “Every Place versus Everyplace“, “Every Thing versus Everything“, “Every Way versus Everyway“, and “Every Where versus Everywhere“.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Every Body | Everybody |
|---|---|
 — |
 — |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adverbial Phrase consisting of a Determiner + Noun | Closed Compound Word
Pronoun, singular or plural |
| All those of a particular type, event, organization, group, etc. | Every person in general |
| Examples: | |
| Yogurt is healthy for every body, well, except those with dairy allergies.
When we finished counting the cadavers, we knew every body was there. This article notes the best short for every body type. |
Everybody agrees with his views.
It’s not everybody’s cup of tea. Thank god, everybody stayed until the end. Everybody must sign his or her name. Everybody had fun tonight. |
| History of the Word: | |
| Every is Old English ǣfre ǣlc while body is Old English bodig and of unknown origin. | It was first recorded in 1520–30. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Every Body versus Everybody
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Revised as of 11 Apr 2024
By: Kathy Davie