physical
physical — adjective
1. about the body, its health, or the way it moves and feels, rather than thoughts
about the body, its health, or the way it moves and feels, rather than thoughts alone.
Regular walks can improve your physical health after a long winter.
collocation: physical health
After the crash, Noah needed physical therapy for his left shoulder.
The job includes heavy lifting and other physical work outdoors.
collocation: physical work
Teenagers need enough sleep for physical growth and strong bones.
- physical health
- physical pain
- physical condition
- physical work
- physical growth
- mental
connected with the mind rather than the body
Grammar Patterns
physical + health
physical + work
be physically active
Usage Note
Common with nouns such as health, activity, condition, pain, work, and growth. Distinguish from sense 4: this sense focuses on the human body, while sense 4 is about matter and the natural world more generally.
Common Mistakes
2. used for actions that hurt people by force, often as a softer way to say 'violen
used for actions that hurt people by force, often as a softer way to say 'violent'.
Police arrested two men after a physical attack outside the station.
collocation: physical attack
The school can suspend students for any physical abuse in class.
collocation: physical abuse
Neighbors heard shouting before the argument turned physical in the hallway.
pattern: turn physical
The film shows physical force, so young children should not watch.
- physical attack
- physical abuse
- physical force
- turn physical
- violent
more direct and usually stronger
- aggressive
broader; can include threatening behavior without actual force
- brutal
stronger and suggests cruelty
- peaceful
without force or harm
- nonviolent
deliberately avoiding force
Grammar Patterns
physical + attack
physical + abuse
turn physical
Usage Note
Usually appears with nouns like attack, abuse, assault, and force, or after verbs such as get, become, and turn. Common when speakers want an indirect way to mention violence.
Common Mistakes
3. connected with sex or with strong sexual attraction, desire, or relationships.
connected with sex or with strong sexual attraction, desire, or relationships.
The book explores physical desire between two old friends.
collocation: physical desire
Mina and Leo wanted an emotional bond, not only a physical relationship.
contrast: emotional vs physical
The ad relies on physical attraction instead of clear information.
collocation: physical attraction
The magazine describes physical intimacy in plain, calm language.
- physical attraction
- physical desire
- physical intimacy
- physical relationship
- platonic
without sexual feeling or activity
Grammar Patterns
physical + attraction
physical + relationship
be physical with someone
Usage Note
Most often used with nouns such as attraction, desire, intimacy, and relationship. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 is any body-related meaning, while this sense is specifically about sex.
Common Mistakes
4. existing in the real world as matter or natural force, so it can be seen, touche
existing in the real world as matter or natural force, so it can be seen, touched, measured, or affected.
The model shows how physical objects fall at different speeds.
collocation: physical objects
Dreams can upset us, but they leave no physical marks.
real-world contrast
Strong wind is a physical force that can break thin branches.
The museum studies physical evidence from life in ancient caves.
collocation: physical evidence
- physical object
- physical evidence
- physical force
- physical world
Grammar Patterns
physical + object
physical + evidence
physical + world
Usage Note
Often used for objects, matter, evidence, space, and forces that belong to the material world. Distinguish from sense 5: sense 5 belongs to the subject of physics, while this sense simply means materially real.
Common Mistakes
5. used in physics or explained by the science of matter, energy, heat, light, and
used in physics or explained by the science of matter, energy, heat, light, and motion.
Students measured the physical properties of ice before it melted.
collocation: physical properties
The lab compared physical changes and chemical changes in sugar.
contrast: physical vs chemical
A physical law explains why the bridge can hold that weight.
collocation: physical law
Her report describes the physical process inside a solar panel.
- physical property
- physical change
- physical law
- physical process
- scientific
broader and not limited to physics
- mechanical
narrower; often about machines or forces in motion
- material
can overlap in technical writing, but is less clearly tied to physics
- chemical
connected with substances and reactions instead of physical form or force
Grammar Patterns
physical + law
physical + property
physical + process
Usage Note
Mostly used before scientific nouns such as law, process, property, change, and system. Distinguish from sense 4: this sense belongs to academic science, not simply to real or touchable things.
Common Mistakes
physical — noun
1. a health check in which a doctor examines your body, often before school, sport,
a health check in which a doctor examines your body, often before school, sport, or a new job.
Ella had a physical before joining the summer basketball camp.
pattern: have a physical
The company asked each driver to pass a physical every year.
pattern: pass a physical
After the chest pain, Mr. Lin booked a full physical.
The nurse checked Ravi's height and blood pressure during the physical.
medical context: during the physical
- have a physical
- get a physical
- pass a physical
- annual physical
- physical examination
full and more formal term
- medical exam
common and clear, especially in forms or instructions
- checkup
broader; not always a formal full-body exam
Grammar Patterns
have a physical
get a physical
pass a physical
Usage Note
Often used with have, get, book, or pass. The fuller term physical examination is more formal, especially in writing from hospitals or official forms.
Common Mistakes
Word family
Synonym discussion
Sense: adjective/1
'Physical' is the broad everyday word for something connected with the body, especially health, movement, pain, or effort. 'Bodily' is close in meaning, but it sounds more formal and is common in medical, legal, or official phrases such as bodily harm. 'Physiological' is more technical and usually points to how the body works inside, such as sleep, hormones, or heart rate. 'Somatic' is even more specialized and appears mostly in medicine or psychology. In ordinary speech, you say physical exercise, physical pain, or physical health. A doctor might write about bodily injury, a scientist might study physiological change, and a therapist might mention somatic symptoms after stress.
Etymology
English physical goes back to Greek physis, meaning 'nature'. It passed through Latin and French before entering English. Earlier uses were linked to the natural world and to the science that studies it. From that base, the word later spread to meanings about the body, bodily force, and the idea of something existing as matter rather than only in the mind.