post·mor·tem
ˌpōs(t)-ˈmȯr-təm 
1
: done, occurring, or collected after death
postmortem tissue specimens
2
: following the event
1
2
: an analysis or discussion of an event after it is over
Examples of postmortem in a Sentence
Adjective
postmortem tests on the brain tissue of people who had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease
Noun
A postmortem showed that the man had been poisoned.
Party leaders are conducting a postmortem of the election to try to find out what went wrong.
Recent Examples on the Web
Brian Spegele, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2022
Beer and his colleagues analyzed postmortem brain tissue from 56 patients in southeastern Germany’s state of Bavaria between 1999 and 2019.
—Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 8 Jan. 2020
Dana O'Neil, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
Police added that no evidence of postmortem fractures were found on the remains, adding that forensic investigators found soil adherence and staining that suggest the remains may have been in the ground for over five decades.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for postmortem
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.
Adjective
In recent years, that has appeared in postmortem blood samples of drug users in Europe and the U.S.
—Brian Spegele, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2022
Beer and his colleagues analyzed postmortem brain tissue from 56 patients in southeastern Germany’s state of Bavaria between 1999 and 2019.
—Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 8 Jan. 2020
Noun
Maybe 1,000 listeners tuned in for the fall Sunday postmortems.
—Dana O'Neil, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
Police added that no evidence of postmortem fractures were found on the remains, adding that forensic investigators found soil adherence and staining that suggest the remains may have been in the ground for over five decades.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for postmortem
Cite this Entry
“Postmortem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/postmortem. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
postmortem
1 of 2 adjective
post·mor·tem
(ˈ)pōs(t)-ˈmȯrt-əm
: done or occurring after death
postmortem
2 of 2 noun1
: autopsy
2
: an analysis or discussion of an event after it is over
Medical Definition
postmortem
1 of 3 adjective
post·mor·tem
(ˈ)pōst-ˈmȯrt-əm
: done, occurring, or collected after death
postmortem tissue specimens
postmortem
2 of 3 noun
: autopsy
post-mortem
3 of 3 adverb
post-mor·tem
: after death
seven cases examined post-mortem
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share