death certificate

American  

noun

• death certificates
  plural

1. a certificate signed by a doctor, giving pertinent identifying information, as age and sex, about a deceased person and certifying the time, place, and cause of death.

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death certificate British  

noun

1. a legal document issued by a qualified medical practitioner certifying the death of a person and stating the cause if known

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• death certificates
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

death certificate

“Part of me jokes that paying for a death certificate would be like buying a lottery ticket.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

They asked me to send them a copy of her death certificate.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

"If you've got a death certificate with that on it, surely there's enough proof?"

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Finally, the family secured an official death certificate and arranged for the cremation of Carleydi Lozada, 43, mother of two.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

He asked her to get the death certificate from the officiating doctor.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith