Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

autopsy

[aw-top-see, aw-tuhp-] / ˈɔ tɒp si, ˈɔ təp- /
NOUN
examination of dead body
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The Ventura County medical examiner’s office will perform the autopsy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

The commission, which based its findings on the autopsy and other things, said Maradona had a history of heart problems that should have been taken into account, a conclusion the prosecution emphasized.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

Hyron Andrews - the former Sale second row found dead at his new team's hotel base before a Champions Cup match in France on Saturday - died of natural causes, an autopsy has found.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

Authorities probing last year’s Air India calamity said in court filing they were examining a range of factors, including by conducting a “psychological autopsy and evaluation.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Or maybe they did something to her during that autopsy?

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

We can find it on autopsies, but the public isn’t paying attention to that.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

The San Diego County medical examiner’s office plans to perform autopsies to determine the cause and manner of death of the three people.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

It its statement on Saturday, the Laos Ministry of Public Security said authorities had not been allowed to conduct autopsies in 2024, and therefore "lacked the forensic evidence necessary to determine the cause of death".

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Authorities have kept the death toll at 12 and cautioned that the number of missing people remains uncertain until autopsies and the identification of recovered bodies are completed.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

Although millions of fever cases were studied and thousands of autopsies performed, not much new was learned about the disease during the entire nineteenth century.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

Identified tentatively as John or Jane Does, the bodies will be transported to the medical examiner’s offices near downtown Los Angeles to be autopsied, Ukpo said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025

A judge granted Bul Mabil’s emergency request to ensure that an independent medical examiner autopsied Mabil’s body before releasing the remains to Bowley and her family.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2024

Since July 2021, Dr Fortun has autopsied the remains of more than 90 victims, and discovered multiple inconsistencies.

From BBC ● Jan. 3, 2024

“Deaths occurring in settings such as hospital inpatient, hospice facility, and nursing home or longterm care were least likely to be autopsied compared with other locations,” the report noted.

From Washington Times ● May 24, 2023

Griffith autopsied the mice and found that the rough bacteria had changed: they had acquired the smooth coat—the virulence-determining factor—merely by contact with the debris from the dead bacteria.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Dr. Henry C. Sweany of Chicago, after autopsying 700 patients whose life-long histories he knew, was convinced that in about half of the adults who die of tuberculosis, the childhood infection flared up.

From Time Magazine Archive

University of Chicago pediatric neurologist Dr. Peter Huttenlocher has chronicled this extraordinary epoch in brain development by autopsying the brains of infants and young children who have died unexpectedly.

From Time Magazine Archive


Vocabulary lists containing autopsy

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training