autopsy

[ aw-top-see, aw-tuhp- ]

/ ˈɔ tɒp si, ˈɔ təp- /

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noun, plural au·top·sies.

inspection and dissection of a body after death, as for determination of the cause of death; postmortem examination.

an analysis of something after it has been done or made.

verb (used with object), au·top·sied, au·top·sy·ing.

to perform an autopsy on.

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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-y³

OTHER WORDS FROM autopsy

au·top·sist, noun

Words nearby autopsy

autoplast, autoplasty, autopolyploid, auto-populate, autopotamic, autopsy, autoput, auto racing, autoradiograph, autoradiography, autoregulation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use autopsy in a sentence

In a statement Thursday, authorities said his body had been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which will perform an autopsy.
Maryland attorney found dead in his home after police responded to possible burglary|Katie Mettler, Peter Hermann|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
At Grand Canyon National Park, 22 food-attracted but malnourished deer were found to have up to five pounds of plastic and foil food packaging obstructing their intestines after autopsies.
Once you know what happens to food you leave outdoors, you’ll stop doing it|Alisha McDarris|January 14, 2021|Popular-Science
Some autopsies have found inflammation in the heart’s blood vessels instead of muscle cells, which are where other infections tend to hit.
These COVID symptoms could last for months|Sara Kiley Watson|September 22, 2020|Popular-Science
An autopsy concluded Hernandez wasn’t physically abused before her death.
Harris as VP pick brings diversity, LGBTQ ally to Biden ticket|Chris Johnson|August 11, 2020|Washington Blade

I was going to open up kind of the skin of the city, just like a doctor doing an autopsy opens up the skin of a body, and try to diagnose the organs that broke down.
Is There Really a “Loneliness Epidemic”? (Ep. 407)|Stephen J. Dubner|February 27, 2020|Freakonomics
They had hoped the autopsy would show Brinsley had eaten something that would point them in the right direction.
Exclusive: Inside a Cop-Killer’s Final Hours|Michael Daly|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As an autopsy has yet to be completed, the official cause of death remains unknown.
Palestinian Cabinet Member Dies in Confrontation with Israeli Soldier|Creede Newton|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
An autopsy found highly toxic cyanide levels in the blood of the not-so-dearly departed.
Beware of Japan’s “Black Widows”|Jake Adelstein|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The autopsy report is expected to be completed in the next 24 hours.
The Shocking Death of Miss Honduras|Romina Ruiz-Goiriena|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Both were looking, of course, at the same evidence, from the same autopsy.
Mass Murder in the Holy City|Michael Tomasky|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Thus, to trace it, the autopsy doctors would have to find, separate or segregate a billionth bit of the mass under observation.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
The hypodermic needle is a weapon of death which has caused autopsy physicians trouble since its invention.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
At the autopsy it was proved conclusively that the bullet inside the Prince was of German origin.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, November 4, 1914|Various
I used my Security papers to get the body for special autopsy instead of the usual immediate cremation.
Security|Poul William Anderson
Why does the public abhor and obstruct the physician in his study of anatomy, dissection, and autopsy on the human body?
Proceedings of the Second National Conservation Congress|Various

British Dictionary definitions for autopsy

autopsy

/ (ˈɔːtəpsɪ, ɔːˈtɒp-) /

noun plural -sies

Also called: necropsy, postmortem examination dissection and examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death

an eyewitness observation

any critical analysis

Word Origin for autopsy

C17: from New Latin autopsia, from Greek: seeing with one's own eyes, from auto- + opsis sight

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for autopsy

autopsy

[ ô′tŏp′sē ]

A medical examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death or to study pathologic changes.

autopsy

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