carcass

or car·case

[ kahr-kuh s ]

/ ˈkɑr kəs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR carcass ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the dead body of an animal.

Slang. the body of a human being, whether living or dead.

the body of a slaughtered animal after removal of the offal.

anything from which life and power are gone: The mining town, now a mere carcass, is a reminder of a past era.

an unfinished framework or skeleton, as of a house or ship.

the body of a furniture piece designed for storage, as a chest of drawers or wardrobe, without the drawers, doors, hardware, etc.

the inner body of a pneumatic tire, resisting by its tensile strength the pressure of the air within the tire, and protected by the tread and other parts.

verb (used with object)

to erect the framework for (a building, ship, etc.).

Nearby words

carbylamine, carcajou, carcanet, carcas, carcase, carcass, carcassonne, carchemish, carcino-, carcinoembryonic antigen, carcinogen

Origin of carcass

1250–1300; < Middle French carcasse < Italian carcassa; replacing Middle English carkeis, carkois < Anglo-French, corresponding to Medieval Latin carcosium; ultimately origin obscure

Related forms

car·cass·less, adjective

Synonym study

1. See body.

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

Examples from the Web for carcass

Jeb next found himself as an advisor to Barclays, which had picked through the carcass of what was left of Lehman.
Bush, Christie, Romney: Who’ll Be the GOP Class Warrior?|Lloyd Green|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I like to get the soup going using the turkey bones and carcass.
Marcus Samuelsson Talks Thanksgiving: Glogg And Berbere-Spiced Turkey|Katie Baker|November 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Once the bee dies, maggots eat the carcass, turn into zombie flies, and buzz off in search of their next host.
When ‘Zombees’ Attack|Winston Ross|October 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He then deposits the carcass back in the woods, where Mother Nature takes care of the cleanup.
How to Catch a Giant Python|Catharine Skipp|February 28, 2010|DAILY BEAST

He could stuff it inside the carcass of a cow, a donkey, even a person.
The Real-Life Hurt Locker|Bryan Curtis|February 2, 2010|DAILY BEAST
My bosom became as bare of hope as the carcass before me was of meat.
With Rod and Line in Colorado Waters|Lewis B. France
Not a bit of carcass was there; there were bones—clean bones—and dry hard skin, but no flesh, not an atom of flesh!
The Forest Exiles|Mayne Reid
Carefully concealing themselves, they followed the man as he dragged the carcass to the camp.
The Adventures of the Chevalier De La Salle and His Companions, in Their Explorations of the Prairies, Forests, Lakes, and Rivers, of the New World, and Their Interviews with the Savage Tribes, Two Hundred Years Ago|John S. C. Abbott
It was midnight when we reached the house with the wounded man, and the carcass of the deer that Ménou and I had shot.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 348|Various
As he darted towards the door Nelson had a glimpse of the carcass blocking the door commencing to slip sidewise.
Astounding Stories, March, 1931|Various

British Dictionary definitions for carcass

carcass

carcase

/ (ˈkɑːkəs) /

noun

the dead body of an animal, esp one that has been slaughtered for food, with the head, limbs, and entrails removed

informal, usually facetious, or derogatory a person's body

the skeleton or framework of a structure

the remains of anything when its life or vitality is gone; shell

Word Origin for carcass

C14: from Old French carcasse, of obscure origin

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