ENGLISH
REFERENCE

autopsy

n. · v.
US //ˈɔˌtɑpsi// UK //ˈɔːtɒpsˌi// au·top·sy
  1. 1 medical examination of a body (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Medicine

    a medical examination of a dead body to find out why the person died.

    a surgical procedure performed on a cadaver to determine the cause and manner of death.

    Example

    The coroner ordered an autopsy to find out if the man died of natural causes.

    Example

    The preliminary autopsy report indicated that the victim had suffered a massive cardiac event, though toxicology results were still pending.

    Usage

    Often used with the verbs 'perform', 'conduct', or 'order'.
    • post mortem
    • necropsy
  2. 2 to examine a body (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Formal Medicine

    to perform a medical examination on a dead body.

    to perform a post-mortem examination on a corpse. Transitive, taking the body or deceased person as the object.

    Example

    The medical examiner autopsied the body early the next morning.

    Example

    The pathologist refused to release the remains until the state had autopsied the victim in accordance with criminal procedure.

Origin

From New Latin autopsia, from Ancient Greek αὐτοψῐ́ᾱ (autopsĭ́ā, “seeing with one's own eyes”). By surface analysis, auto- + -opsy.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Last updated June 20, 2026