cadaver

American  

[kuh-dav-er] / kəˈdæv ər /

noun

• cadavers
  plural

1. a dead body, especially a human body to be dissected; corpse.

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cadaver British  

/ kəˈdeɪvə, -ˈdɑːv- /

noun

1. med a corpse

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Usage

What is a cadaver? A cadaver is a dead body, especially a dead human body. The word cadaver is sometimes used interchangeably with the word corpse, but cadaver is especially used in a scientific context to refer to a body that is the subject of scientific study or medical use, such as one that will be dissected. It’s sometimes used as a modifier (adjective) in phrases that involve cadavers. For example, cadaver tissue is tissue that has been harvested from a donor body. A cadaver dog is a dog that has been specially trained to track the scent of dead bodies in searches for missing persons. Example: The cadavers are carefully preserved before they are prepared for dissection.

Synonym Usage

See body.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cadaveric
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cadavers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cadaver

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin cadāver dead body, corpse; akin to cadere to fall, perish ( see decay, chance)

Explanation

A cadaver is a dead human body used in scientific or medical research. If you are dead, you are a corpse, but if Dr. Frankenstein robs your grave so he can use your body for research, you become a cadaver. Umm... congratulations? Cadaver comes from the Latin verb, cadere, which means “to fall." Its English origins refer to soldiers who died in battle, i.e. the fallen. Dissection of a cadaver is a major rite of passage for medical school students––some have been known to run from the room and throw up — though most surprise themselves.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cadaver cadavers

When the mummy was found in 1991, it was initially treated as a normal cadaver.

From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026

The earl of Arundel’s tomb expresses the grim realities beneath the era’s facade of chivalry: Above, he is depicted resplendent in full armor; below, as a gaunt cadaver.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026

“They brought in two cadaver dogs looking to see if anyone was still trapped under the rubble, and the dogs cleared everything,” Hurd said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025

The family, alongside a volunteer team using cadaver detection dogs, also searched an "area of interest" they hoped would be a breakthrough in the case earlier this month.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2025

It was yellow, and parts of it had liquefied—it looked like the liver of a cadaver.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

Much of early topographical anatomy – the careful mapping of structures in relation to one another – depended on cadavers obtained through grave robbery.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 21, 2026

However, some of this research -- particularly one claiming to have found a plastic spoon's worth of microplastic in the brains of cadavers -- has recently come under stinging criticism from scientists.

From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026

Dr. Zoubi stored the cadavers in the hospital’s morgue for two weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025

Kevin Lowbrera, who works for one of the big "body broking" companies, says its accreditation by the American Association of Tissue Banks means it has to follow guidelines determining how cadavers are treated and stored.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2025

I climbed up and took my place on the table as if I were one of Mr. Huffer’s cadavers.

From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos

Related Words

• carcass
• corpse
• skeleton