What does "corpse" mean?

1. (dead body) the dead body of a person. 2. (to laugh during a performance) to laugh suddenly when you are acting in a play or film and should be serious.

How do you use "corpse"?

In modern usage, 'corpse' almost exclusively refers to humans, while 'carcass' refers to animals. The verb is usually intransitive, though it can be used transitively to mean 'making someone else laugh'.

corpse

n. · v.

US //ˈkɔɹps// UK //kˈɔːps// corpse

1 dead body (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

the dead body of a person.

the deceased body of a human being.

Example

The police found a corpse in the abandoned house yesterday morning.

Example

Medical students must learn to treat each corpse with respect during their anatomy dissections.

Usage

In modern usage, 'corpse' almost exclusively refers to humans, while 'carcass' refers to animals.
2 to laugh during a performance (v.)
C1 Advanced British English Informal Slang Theatre

to laugh suddenly when you are acting in a play or film and should be serious.

to break character by laughing uncontrollably during a theatrical performance or filming.

Example

The actor started to corpse during the funeral scene because his co-star made a funny face.

Example

It is notoriously difficult for comedians to avoid corpsing when their partners begin improvising unexpected lines during a live recording.

Usage

The verb is usually intransitive, though it can be used transitively to mean 'making someone else laugh'.
- break character

Origin

From Middle English, from earlier corse, from Old French cors, from Latin corpus (“body”). Displaced native English likam and lich. The ⟨p⟩ was inserted due to the original Latin spelling. Doublet of corps and corpus, and distantly of riff (via Proto-Indo-European). The verb sense derives from the notion of being unable to control laughter while acting as dead body.