Dic: body of people, body of something

3.【GROUP】[C] a group of people who work together to do a particular job or who are together for a particular purpose.

• The British Medical Association is the doctors' professional body.

body of (people):

• There were reports of a large body of armed men near the border.
• Kaplan served on the governing body of the museum (=the group who control the museum).
• The student body (=all the students in a school or college) numbers 5000.
• The research will be used by government departments and other public bodies (=groups whose work is connected to the government) .

in a body (=as a group, together)

• The women moved towards the building in a body.

4. body of sth:

a) [a body of sth] a large amount or mass of something, especially something that has been collected.

body of knowledge/evidence/opinion etc

• There is now a considerable body of knowledge of the different stages of childhood.
• There is a growing body of evidence that charges are too high.

b) [the body of sth] the main, central, or most important part of something

• The arguments are explained in the body of the text.
• Leave three blank lines between the date and the body of the letter.

.... LDOCE