corpse

American  

[kawrps] / kɔrps /

noun

1. a dead body, usually of a human being.

   Synonyms:

   cadaver

2. something no longer useful or viable.

   rusting corpses of old cars.

3. Obsolete. a human or animal body, whether alive or dead.

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corpse British  

/ kɔːps /

noun

1. a dead body, esp of a human being; cadaver

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verb

1. slang theatre to laugh or cause to laugh involuntarily or inopportunely while on stage

Related Words

See body.

Etymology

Origin of corpse

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English corps; originally spelling variant of cors ( corse ) but the p is now sounded

Example Sentences

Doctors lacked advanced medical tools, so a corpse was watched for three days to be certain it did not awaken.

From Literature

Héctor checked for vitals and then placed a paper blanket over the corpse.

From BBC

And there’s this one, a pioneering one in California criminal law: a crime even without a corpse, the body of evidence — the corpus delicti.

From Los Angeles Times

These exercises, including games of exquisite corpse, released something fantastical in Lam.

From The Wall Street Journal

Nietzsche said God is dead, but skimped on details of how we’d deal with the corpse.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• body
• cadaver
• carcass
• remains