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

Synonyms

• necropsy
• postmortem
• postmortem examination

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

After the Troy, New York, crash, one of hundreds in just one state, a medical examiner in a cold hospital room now was ready to take the body for an autopsy. —USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2024

Rulings on the manner and cause of his death are pending an autopsy. —Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Apr. 2024

That office completed autopsies of their bodies over the next three days and released them to the Rhoden and Gilley families. —The Enquirer, 15 Apr. 2024

After colleagues of Burleigh’s tried to cover it up — including spiriting Campbell’s body away to an unmarked grave in the local cemetery — a second autopsy revealed that the young woman’s abdomen was inflamed, her uterus was missing, and her breasts were full of milk. —TIME, 15 Apr. 2024

The Ada County Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy on the children’s remains on June 11, 2020, two days after police located them. —Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 11 Apr. 2024

Authorities have said an autopsy leads them to believe her cause of death was a result of blunt force trauma after possibly being struck by a vehicle, the Appeal-Democrat newspaper reported. —Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 11 Apr. 2024

Even for friends and family, autopsies and official rulings can provide answers in an unexpected death. —Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2024

While an autopsy is pending, Nenigar’s family members are devastated by the circumstances of her death. —Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 1 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "act of seeing with one's own eyes, direct observation," borrowed from New Latin autopsia, borrowed from Greek autopsía, from aut- aut- + -opsia, later variant of -opsis "act of seeing, sight" — more at optic entry 1

Note: Use of the word in English to refer specifically to the examination of a corpse is apparently not known before the nineteenth century. The Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, notes French autopsie in the sense "post-mortem examination" from "1671 or earlier," but gives no source for an attestation. In French the phrase autopsie cadavérique is fairly common after 1800, but does not seem to have been used earlier. In Latin medical texts of the eighteenth century, the phrase autopsia cadaverum "autopsy of cadavers" (with variants) can be found in a number of texts, as the Synopsis universae praxeos medicae, pars prima (Amsterdam, 1765) of the French physician Joseph Lieutaud.

First Known Use

1678, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids 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- 

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