autopsy
Americannoun
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autopsies
plural
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inspection and dissection of a body after death, as for determination of the cause of death; postmortem examination.
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an analysis of something after it has been done or made.
verb (used with object)
noun
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Also called: necropsy, postmortem examination. dissection and examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death
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an eyewitness observation
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any critical analysis
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of autopsy
1645–55; (< Middle French autopsie ) < Greek autopsía a seeing with one's own eyes, equivalent to aut- aut- + óps ( is ) -opsis + -ia -y 3
Compare meaning
How does autopsy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An autopsy is the dissection of a dead human body to figure out the cause of death. If you watch crime shows on TV, you've probably seen hundreds of 'em. The word autopsy comes from the Greek, meaning "to see with one's own eyes." Many cultures thought it was sacrilegious to mar the human body, because the dead person would need it in the afterlife (you don't want to be hanging out for eternity with your pals while your intestines are flapping around your ankles). Autopsy is used interchangeably with the term post-mortem, Latin for "after-death."
Vocabulary lists containing autopsy
To Thine Own Self Be True: Auto
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Into the Wild
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Common Senses: Op, Ops, Opt ("Sight")
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Authorities probing last year’s Air India calamity said in court filing they were examining a range of factors, including by conducting a “psychological autopsy and evaluation.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Wrestling’s treatment of its employees is a bit too abstract to be listed on either man’s autopsy report.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
An autopsy is pending for the fourth death.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
Maccani was suffering from an apparent bipolar episode, his family said; an autopsy revealed that he didn’t have any drugs in his system when he died.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
We were told at first that the hospital wouldn’t be able to determine the cause of death until Monday, when they would perform the autopsy.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
We can find it on autopsies, but the public isn’t paying attention to that.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026
The San Diego County medical examiner’s office plans to perform autopsies to determine the cause and manner of death of the three people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
In the other, 2,959 participants underwent autopsies after death, at an average age of 82, so researchers could look for evidence of Alzheimer's disease.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
It its statement on Saturday, the Laos Ministry of Public Security said authorities had not been allowed to conduct autopsies in 2024, and therefore "lacked the forensic evidence necessary to determine the cause of death".
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Half of all migrants found “drowned,” autopsies reveal, died before ever entering the water, says Nuevo Laredo human rights activist Raymundo Ramos Vasquez.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
Identified tentatively as John or Jane Does, the bodies will be transported to the medical examiner’s offices near downtown Los Angeles to be autopsied, Ukpo said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025
Since July 2021, Dr Fortun has autopsied the remains of more than 90 victims, and discovered multiple inconsistencies.
From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2024
Dr. Anne Shepler, a forensic pathologist at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center who autopsied Brandon’s body, told the Winston-Salem Journal that he died from breathing smoke and fumes.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 16, 2023
These waterfowl are among the world's most plastic-contaminated species, according to a previous study by some of the same authors reporting that 90 percent of autopsied flesh-footed shearwaters had ingested plastic.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2023
Griffith autopsied the mice and found that the rough bacteria had changed: they had acquired the smooth coat—the virulence-determining factor—merely by contact with the debris from the dead bacteria.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
University of Chicago pediatric neurologist Dr. Peter Huttenlocher has chronicled this extraordinary epoch in brain development by autopsying the brains of infants and young children who have died unexpectedly.
From Time Magazine Archive
Dr. Henry C. Sweany of Chicago, after autopsying 700 patients whose life-long histories he knew, was convinced that in about half of the adults who die of tuberculosis, the childhood infection flared up.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
