medical examiner

noun

: a usually appointed public officer whose duties are similar to those of a coroner but who is typically required to have specific medical training (as in pathology) and is qualified to conduct medical examinations and autopsies

Examples of medical examiner in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Officials did not release details, but the agency cautioned that the victims' official cause and manner of deaths remain pending autopsy results from the local medical examiner's office. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 11 Feb. 2026

Cole said the circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation and the Cuyahoga County medical examiner is determining the cause and manner of death. —Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 10 Feb. 2026

McDonald died of a heart attack in 2017, with the city’s medical examiner ruling his death a homicide, stating his demise was caused by complications from the 1986 shooting. —Barry Williams, New York Daily News, 10 Feb. 2026

Cherniack said the medical examiner’s determination of the cause of death will also be helpful in the case. —Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 9 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for medical examiner

• interlaminar
• laminar

Medical Definition

medical examiner

noun

1

: a usually appointed public officer with duties similar to those of a coroner but who is required to have specific medical training (as in pathology) and is qualified to conduct medical examinations and autopsies

2

: a physician employed to make medical examinations (as of applicants for military service or of claimants of workers' compensation)

3

: a physician appointed to examine and license candidates for the practice of medicine in a political jurisdiction (as a state)

Legal Definition

medical examiner

noun

med·​i·​cal examiner

: a public officer who determines the necessity of and conducts autopsies