remains

British  

/ rɪˈmeɪnz /

plural noun

1. any pieces, scraps, fragments, etc, that are left unused or still extant, as after use, consumption, the passage of time, etc

   the remains of a meal

   archaeological remains

2. the body of a dead person; corpse

3. Also called: literary remains.  the unpublished writings of an author at the time of his or her death

---

Explanation

The word remains can mean a dead body, so a detective might investigate to find out if some bones found in a lake are human or non-human remains. You can also use remains to mean the part of something that's left behind after the rest has been used or thrown away. So the remains of your birthday cake might just be some crumbs and melted candles, and the remains of a building after an earthquake could consist of a crumbling foundation. In a murder mystery, though, remains are likely to be human bodies.

Example Sentences

Barron’s declared that “AI Remains a Glaring Problem for Apple” and that the company is in desperate need of a “New Era of Innovation.”

From MarketWatch • Apr. 21, 2026

Remains of approximately 1,150 people have so far been identified there, which we might expect to rise to 1,725 once the final third of the city has been excavated.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

Remains of an extinct breed of Bronze Age cattle have been discovered by archaeologists in a cave in the Yorkshire Dales.

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2025

Curated by Neville Wakefield and held at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture at the Schindler House, “What Remains Behind?” explores the tension between the past and the future.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2025

Remains of houses and sewn clothing testify to a greatly improved ability to survive in cold climates, and remains of jewelry and carefully buried skeletons indicate revolutionary aesthetic and spiritual developments.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• debris
• remnant