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

Explanation

Another name for a dead body is corpse. You might hear the word on TV crime shows, but a corpse doesn't have to be a crime victim, just any lifeless body. The words corpse and "corps" are often confused, and with good reason — both came from the Latin word corpus, meaning "body," and up until the 19th Century, both referred to a dead person. Around that time, the word with the "e" at the end was established as the word for a person's remains, while the other spelling was relegated to a "body" of people working together or in a military division, and very much alive!

Example Sentences

Mojtaba Khamanei said in his message he had seen the late ayatollah's corpse after his "martyrdom".

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

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 • Feb. 21, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

Israeli forces had to find and extract his corpse.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 29, 2026

The corpse lay in state for another five minutes and then, without warning or ceremony, lurched to his feet and casually strolled off in search of his own meal.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

Related Words

• body
• cadaver
• carcass
• remains