ˈbody blow noun [countable]

1. a serious loss, disappointment, or defeat ⇒ blow:
Hopes of economic recovery were dealt a body blow by this latest announcement.

2. a hard hit between your neck and waist during a fight

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

spend to use money to buy things:
I bought two skirts and a T-shirt and I only spent $50.
How much do you spend a week on food?
go through something (also get through something British English) to spend all of an amount of money over a period of time – used especially when saying that someone spends a lot of money:
I got through all my money in less than a month, and had to get my parents to send me more.
go to great expense to spend a lot of money in order to do something, because you think it is important or special:
The party was wonderful – they had obviously gone to great expense.
There’s no need to go to great expense.
squander /ˈskwɒndə $ ˈskwɑːndər/ to waste money on unnecessary things, instead of saving it or using it carefully:
His son had squandered the family fortune on gambling and women.
splash out British English informal to spend a lot of money on something you really want or will enjoy:
Let’s splash out on a bottle of champagne.
People often splash out for Christmas and then regret it later.
blow informal to spend a lot of money on something, especially on something that you do not really need:
Her husband blew all their savings on a new sports car.
economize to spend less money:
We’re trying to economize by eating at home instead of going out for meals.
a big/major/serious/heavy blow
The earthquake was a serious blow to the area’s tourism industry.
a severe/terrible/awful blow
The news was a terrible blow for his family.
a bitter blow (=extremely disappointing)
Their defeat was a bitter blow.
a cruel/devastating/crushing blow (=extremely hard to bear)
Her loss came as a devastating blow to her father.
a body blow (=a very serious difficulty which could cause something to fail completely)
A tax on books would be a body blow for education.
a mortal/fatal/death blow (=causing something to end)
When he quit it dealt a mortal blow to the show.
be a blow
I can’t deny his leaving was a blow.
deal a blow to somebody/something
The 1982 drought dealt a devastating blow to the country.
come as a blow to somebody
His sudden death came as a huge blow to us all.
deliver a blow
Opinion polls delivered a nasty blow to the Tory leader.
suffer/receive a blow
Our team suffered a blow when Paul was sent off the field.
soften/cushion the blow (=make it easier to deal with)
There are various ways to soften the blow of redundancy among staff.
be a bit of a blow British English especially spoken (=be disappointing or cause problems for you)
The result was a bit of a blow for the team.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

body blow
[mainly British]
something that causes serious difficulty or disappointment.
Losing the court case was a body blow to animal rights campaigners.

Her hopes of competing in the Olympics were dealt a body blow when she fell and injured her back.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

body blow
n., informal A great disappointment; a bitter failure.
When he failed to get on the team it came as a body blow to him.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲