medical examiner

American  

noun

1. a physician or other person trained in medicine who is appointed by a city, county, or the like, to perform autopsies on the bodies of persons supposed to have died from unnatural causes and to investigate the cause and circumstances of such deaths.

2. a physician retained by an insurance company, industrial firm, or the like, to give medical examinations to its clients or employees.

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medical examiner British  

noun

1. a medical expert, usually a physician, employed by a state or local government to determine the cause of sudden death in cases of suspected violence, suicide, etc Compare coroner

2. a physician who carries out medical examinations

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Etymology

Origin of medical examiner

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

The county's medical examiner said the body was "severely decomposed" and deferred on making a ruling on how she died pending the death investigation.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

A judge ordered that the teen's death records be sealed in November to ensure officers received information from the medical examiner before the public.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

The Los Angeles County medical examiner said the cause of death stemmed from the combined effects of physical exertion, environmental heat exposure, blunt trauma and COVID-19 infection.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

The Academy hands out its annual laurels at the Oscars, Nicole Kidman plays a medical examiner in a Patricia Cornwell adaptation, Daniel Radcliffe heads to Broadway in ‘Every Brilliant Thing,’ and more.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

“The medical examiner will determine if these were homicides, accidents, natural deaths—” “Natural?”

From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson