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

The Mississippi medical examiner has not released the results of the state autopsy, and did not return messages left Wednesday asking for a timeline of when those results would be released. — ABC News, 22 July 2026

Those results have not been released, and the coroner’s office is waiting on a toxicology report from the medical examiner’s office to be completed. — Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 22 July 2026

Police told the Observer that the medical examiner decides whether to perform an autopsy. — Caitlin McGlade, Charlotte Observer, 22 July 2026

The independent autopsy was conducted on July 10 after the state medical examiner's initial autopsy, Crump said. — James Powel, USA Today, 22 July 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