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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

death certificate

No DNA match or death certificate has been issued confirming her death, but Barrio is resigned to the worst, faced with the "extremely remote" chance of finding her alive.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cited Parkinson’s disease as the actor’s immediate cause of death, according to his death certificate obtained by TMZ.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

But this is only possible once they submit a death certificate.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

On the infant’s death certificate, Diamantoni said, measles is listed as a contributing condition unrelated to the underlying cause of death.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

“My father always say she never went past a child in her head,” she said, reaching into her purse for a crumpled copy of Elsie’s death certificate, which she began reading slowly out loud.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

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