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postmortem

American  
[pohst-mawr-tuhm] / poʊstˈmɔr təm /

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or occurring in the time following death.

  2. of or relating to examination of the body after death.

  3. occurring after the end of something; after the event.

    a postmortem criticism of a television show.

adverb

  1. after death.

    Pacemakers have to be removed postmortem from bodies that are going to be cremated.

noun

  1. Medicine/Medical. a postmortem examination; autopsy.

  2. an evaluation or discussion occurring after the end or fact of something.

    to do a postmortem on the decision of a court.

  3. Cards. a discussion of the bidding or playing of a previous hand.

postmortem British  
/ pəʊstˈmɔːtəm /

adjective

  1. (prenominal) occurring after death

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. analysis or study of a recently completed event

    a postmortem on a game of chess

  2. See postmortem examination

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
postmortem Cultural  

  1. Autopsy; figuratively, any analysis that follows an event: “When the convention is over, we'll have a postmortem to find ways of improving it for next year.” From Latin, meaning “after death.”

Etymology

Origin of postmortem

First recorded in 1725–35, postmortem is from Latin post mortem “after death”

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.

"For researchers who study autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions, postmortem brain tissue is a critical scientific resource that cannot be replicated by artificial intelligence, imaging technologies, or even animal experiments," explained David G. Amaral, Ph.D.,

From Science Daily • Apr. 8, 2026

Bowman has called an internal postmortem that Barr conducted inadequate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026

In the postmortem, there will always be someone like economist Roger Babson in September 1929 who will be able to say, “I told you so.”

From MarketWatch • Oct. 20, 2025

The postmortem report cited cardiorespiratory shock from electrical current at multiple sites as the cause of death, occurring 36 to 72 hours before the autopsy conducted on 1 May.

From BBC • Aug. 13, 2025

It sounds macabre, but when Mother realized that after she’s dead, she won’t be able to tell me what to wear anymore, she came up with this ingenious postmortem system.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

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.