corpus

noun

cor·​pus ˈkȯr-pəs 

plural corpora ˈkȯr-p(ə-)rə 

1

: the body of a human or animal especially when dead

2

a

: the main part or body of a bodily structure or organ

the corpus of the uterus

b

: the main body or corporeal substance of a thing

specifically : the principal of a fund or estate as distinct from income or interest

3

a

: all the writings or works of a particular kind or on a particular subject

especially : the complete works of an author

b

: a collection or body of knowledge or evidence

especially : a collection of recorded utterances used as a basis for the descriptive analysis of a language

Synonyms of corpus

• output

Examples of corpus in a Sentence

a computerized corpus of English

Jane Austen's corpus is modest in number but magnificent in achievement.

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s only possible because of the corpus of transcripts that sits underneath it. —Gina Chua, semafor.com, 6 May 2026

He was sent to a detention center in Kern County, and his lawyer filed a demand for his release, known as a habeas corpus petition, in federal court in Sacramento in March. —Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 1 May 2026

Trained on such a corpus, an AI helper could speak your company’s language fluently, and reveal richly profitable connections in your files. —Erik German, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026

Malmi chose to release these as part of a civil trial against an Australian man who was sued for falsely claiming to be the Bitcoin creator, providing the largest corpus of Satoshi’s communications to date. —Frank Landymore, Futurism, 9 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, borrowed from Latin, "body, entity, group of people, collection, compendium" — more at midriff

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing corpus

• corpus allatum
• corpus callosum
• corpus cardiacum
• corpus delicti
• corpus luteum
• corpus striatum
• habeas corpus
• habeas corpus ad subjiciendum
• writ of habeas corpus

Rhymes for corpus

• porpoise

Medical Definition

corpus

noun

cor·​pus ˈkȯr-pəs 

plural corpora -p(ə-)rə 

1

: the human or animal body especially when dead

2

: the main part or body of a bodily structure or organ

the corpus of the jaw

see corpus uteri

Legal Definition

corpus

noun

cor·​pus ˈkȯr-pəs, -ˌpu̇s 

plural corpora -pə-rə 

: the main body of a thing

specifically : the principal of a fund, trust, or estate as distinct from income or interest : res