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Distinguishing Between Core and Corps and Corpse and Corp
These words are frequently confused despite their very different applications. Core and corps both rhyme with more. Core can be a noun, verb, or adjective, but is most often used as a noun to refer to the central or most important part of something (“the core of the issue,” “the Earth’s core”) or to the usually inedible central part of a fruit (“an apple core”). Corps has several meanings, all of which refer to some kind of group: “the Marine Corps,” “the press corps.” Its plural form is also spelled corps (“two corps of reporters”) but is pronounced just as cores is. Unlike in corps, The “p” in corpse and corp is pronounced. Corpse refers to a dead body, and especially to the dead body of a human. Corp is an abbreviation for “corporation” and “corporal.” Corp, corps, and corpse all trace back to the Latin word corpus, meaning “body.” The origin of core is obscure.
Examples of corpse in a Sentence
CBS News, 14 June 2026
He was also convicted of second-degree assault, abuse of a corpse, falsifying physical evidence and witness tampering.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 12 June 2026
When all of the useful parts have been claimed from a corpse, industrial scavengers tug the remains to a cement pad, where excavators tear the vessel into bits of metal, Petty explained.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026
The corpse stink was, at first, slightly too repulsive to unleash on the Field Museum’s unsuspecting visitors, so it was toned down slightly.
—Rj MacKenzie, Popular Science, 11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for corpse
Cite this Entry
“Corpse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corpse. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
corpse
nounMiddle English corps "human body," from early French corps (same meaning), from Latin corpus "body"
Medical Definition
corpse
noun
