corpse

[ kawrps ]

noun

1. a dead body, usually of a human being.

   Synonyms: cadaver

2. something no longer useful or viable:

   rusting corpses of old cars.

3. Obsolete. a human or animal body, whether alive or dead.

corpse

/ kɔːps /

noun

1. a dead body, esp of a human being; cadaver

verb

1. slang.
   theatre to laugh or cause to laugh involuntarily or inopportunely while on stage

Word History and Origins

Origin of corpse¹

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English corps; originally spelling variant of cors ( corse ) but the p is now sounded

Word History and Origins

Origin of corpse¹

C14: from Old French corps body, from Latin corpus body

Synonym Study

See body.

Example Sentences

It shows a corpse whose head and arms have been severed, and the stomach cut open.

From BBC

In 1968 George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead became a hit, and there’s no escaping the sting in its tail as its hero, Duane Jones, the only Black man in the cast, survives the zombie apocalypse only to be murdered by local law enforcement, his corpse pitched into a bonfire.

From Slate

The alt-right was just the cleaned-up reanimated corpse of white nationalism personified by figures like George Lincoln Rockwell, who founded the American Nazi Party in 1959, and William Luther Pierce, who founded the National Alliance in 1974.

From Slate

On his 100th birthday, Colin meets his gassy death before being reborn as a baby that burst from the abdomen of his corpse.

From Los Angeles Times

Hunter, a right-wing Trump ally who ran anti-Muslim ads and admitted to posing with the corpse of an enemy combatant, served for seven years in California’s 50th Congressional District, until he resigned in 2020.

From Slate

Related Words

• body
• cadaver
• carcass
• remains