medical examiner

American  

noun

1. a physician or other person trained in medicine who is appointed by a city, county, or the like, to perform autopsies on the bodies of persons supposed to have died from unnatural causes and to investigate the cause and circumstances of such deaths.

2. a physician retained by an insurance company, industrial firm, or the like, to give medical examinations to its clients or employees.

---

medical examiner British  

noun

1. a medical expert, usually a physician, employed by a state or local government to determine the cause of sudden death in cases of suspected violence, suicide, etc Compare coroner

2. a physician who carries out medical examinations

---

Etymology

Origin of medical examiner

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

medical examiner

On cross-examination, the defense team got a medical examiner to admit they could not absolutely rule out that Hernandez was holding the weapon or attempted to harm herself the night of the killing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026

The medical examiner added that its full report would be available at a later date.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

The medical examiner cited complications related to a respiratory virus and ruled the death as noncriminal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The man who died was identified Wednesday by the San Francisco medical examiner as Clifford Joseph Boisa, 79, of Sutter County.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

When Arthur Devlin himself stepped off the first passenger car with Lester Burton and the county medical examiner in tow, they knew the quarantine was over.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool