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

How to use autopsy in a sentence

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
[ ôtŏp′sē ]

A medical examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death or to study pathologic changes.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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