corpse

noun

1
archaic : a human or animal body whether living or dead
2
a
: a dead body especially of a human being
b
: the remains of something discarded or defunct
the corpses of rusting cars

Did you know?

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

a battlefield strewn with corpses the startling discovery of a corpse required a call to the police
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
On a kitchen dry storage shelf, 10 live roaches crawled on bags of food and clean containers around 10 roach corpses. David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 14 Nov. 2025 Judge Julie Reinhardt Ward handed down the sentence following Hern’s guilty plea in October to a single count of abuse of a corpse. Quinlan Bentley, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 Nov. 2025 Israel wiped out entire cities with nothing left but an abundance of rubble mixed with thousands of corpses stuck underneath. Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025 And now one of those corpses could soon be Evelyn’s. Noel Murray, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for corpse

Word History

Etymology

Middle English cors, corps, borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Latin corpus "body" — more at midriff

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of corpse was in the 13th century

Cite this Entry

“Corpse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corpse. Accessed 23 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

corpse

noun
: a dead body
Etymology

Middle English corps "human body," from early French corps (same meaning), from Latin corpus "body"

Medical Definition

corpse

noun
: a dead body especially of a human being

More from Merriam-Webster on corpse

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!