corpse
Americannoun
-
corpses
plural
-
a dead body, usually of a human being.
- Synonyms:
- cadaver
-
something no longer useful or viable.
rusting corpses of old cars.
-
Obsolete. a human or animal body, whether alive or dead.
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See body.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of corpse
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English corps; originally spelling variant of cors ( see 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!
Vocabulary lists containing corpse
Body Language: Corp ("Body")
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The Westing Game
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
There, at a tombstone whose name is illegible, the inspector and his crew find a corpse in a tweed suit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
But when Henry Clayton’s Armani-clad corpse washes up on the beach, one person is certain he didn’t take his own life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
They scheduled the party two weeks ago and got lucky when they heard the corpse flowers were in bloom on the same day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
It’s sweaty, stinky time again at the Huntington Library, Art Gallery, and Botanic Gardens, where the season’s first rare corpse flower bloom is expected by July 23.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
He wondered why he wasn’t scared of her: why a dream of a museum could leave him terrified, while he seemed to be coping with a walking corpse without fear.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
Another possibility: He could be among the corpses of 1,700 Palestinians — most of them from Gaza — being held by Israel, according to Israeli media reports.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
Burials must be strictly supervised as the virus spreads by contact with bodily fluids, meaning corpses can remain contagious.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
A clockwise march past the 85 exhibits develops a chronology from the birth of modern war in the tangled British and French corpses of J.M.W.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
A preliminary investigation shows it may be a case of an "unlawful disposal of unclaimed corpses", it added.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
Mrs. Rezaei sat slumped on the couch, looking like she had just strode inside from a battlefield, leaving behind a trail of corpses in true Klingon fashion.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
