autopsy

[ aw-top-see, aw-tuh p- ]

/ ˈɔ tɒp si, ˈɔ təp- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR autopsy ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

RELATED WORDS

postmortem, dissection, necropsy

Nearby words

autoplast, autoplasty, autopolymer resin, autopolyploid, autopotamic, autopsy, autoput, autoradiograph, autoradiography, autoregulation, autoreinfection

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

Related formsau·top·sist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for autopsy

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

The lawyer asserted that an autopsy of Sarbandi showed how the pen knife wound was itself not fatal.
The Real Reason Iran Killed This Woman for Defending Herself|Eli Lake|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With this in mind they had persuaded the relatives of Rosalie to permit an autopsy.
She Stands Accused|Victor MacClure
One such case seen only at autopsy had a rupture of the aorta just above the sinus of Valsalva and died of hemopericardium.
Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension:|Louis Marshall Warfield
Did you have occasion to participate in the autopsy of the late President Kennedy?
Warren Commission (2 of 26): Hearings Vol. II (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
The lion has to assist at his autopsy,—rather hard, is n't it?
Sir Brook Fossbrooke, Volume I.|Charles James Lever
Maud pronounced fit for military burial after Hill's autopsy.
Friends of France|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

Word Origin and History for autopsy

autopsy

1650s, "an eye-witnessing," from Modern Latin autopsia, from Greek autopsia "a seeing with one's own eyes," from autos- "self" (see auto-) + opsis "a sight" (see eye (n.)). Sense of "dissection of a body to determine cause of death" is first recorded 1670s, probably from the same sense in French autopsie (1570s).

Medicine definitions for autopsy

autopsy

[ ô′tŏp′sē ]

n.

An examination of a cadaver in order to determine the cause of death or to study pathologic changes.necropsy postmortem postmortem examination

Science 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.