autopsy
noun
au·top·sy
ˈȯ-ˌtäp-sē 
ˈȯ-təp-
plural autopsies
1
: an examination of a body after death to determine the cause of death or the character and extent of changes produced by disease
called also necropsy
2
: a critical examination, evaluation, or assessment of someone or something past
autopsy
transitive verb
Examples of autopsy in a Sentence
The coroner performed an autopsy on the murder victim's body.
the autopsy revealed an advanced stage of cancer
Recent Examples on the Web
An autopsy found multiple drugs in his system at the time of his death.
—
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 5 Nov. 2024
One surprising thing Despite the flurry of headlines announcing that, according to an anonymous tip, Liam Payne’s autopsy found pink cocaine in his system, there’s no chemical test for pink cocaine.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 4 Nov. 2024
The preliminary autopsy also listed contributing causes of acute intoxication by cocaine and alcohol and cardiopulmonary arrest, WOIO reported.
—Eric Levenson, CNN, 3 Nov. 2024
After this came a jarring interlude that looked to me like a puppet autopsy.
—Jennifer Homans, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for autopsy 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 5 Nov. 2024
One surprising thing Despite the flurry of headlines announcing that, according to an anonymous tip, Liam Payne’s autopsy found pink cocaine in his system, there’s no chemical test for pink cocaine.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 4 Nov. 2024
The preliminary autopsy also listed contributing causes of acute intoxication by cocaine and alcohol and cardiopulmonary arrest, WOIO reported.
—Eric Levenson, CNN, 3 Nov. 2024
After this came a jarring interlude that looked to me like a puppet autopsy.
—Jennifer Homans, The New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for autopsy
Dictionary Entries Near autopsy
Cite this Entry
“Autopsy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autopsy. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
autopsy
noun
au·top·sy
ˈȯ-ˌtäp-sē
ˈȯt-əp-
plural autopsies
: an examination of a dead body especially to find out the cause of death
autopsy
verb
Etymology
from Greek autopsia "the act of seeing with one's own eyes," from aut- "self" and opsis "sight," from opsesthai "to be going to see" — related to optic
Medical Definition
autopsy
1 of 2 noun
au·top·sy
ˈȯ-ˌtäp-sē
ˈȯt-əp-
ˈȯt-əp-
plural autopsies
: an examination of the body after death usually with such dissection as will expose the vital organs for determining the cause of death or the character and extent of changes produced by disease
called also necropsy, postmortem, postmortem examination
autopsy
2 of 2 transitive verb
autopsied; autopsying
: to perform an autopsy on
Legal Definition
autopsy
noun
au·top·sy
ˈȯ-ˌtäp-sē, -təp-
plural autopsies
: an examination of a body after death usually involving dissection especially to determine the cause of death
called also post mortem, post mortem examination
autopsy
transitive verb
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share