anatomy

American  

[uh-nat-uh-mee] / əˈnæt ə mi /

noun

plural

anatomies

1. the science dealing with the structure of animals and plants.

2. the structure of an animal or plant, or of any of its parts.

3. dissection of all or part of an animal or plant in order to study its structure.

4. a plant or animal that has been or will be dissected, or a model of such a dissected organism.

5. a skeleton.

6. Informal. the human body.

7. an analysis or minute examination.

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anatomy British  

/ əˈnætəmɪ /

noun

1. the science concerned with the physical structure of animals and plants

2. the physical structure of an animal or plant or any of its parts

3. a book or treatise on this subject

4. dissection of an animal or plant

5. any detailed analysis

   the anatomy of a crime

6. informal the human body

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anatomy Scientific  

/ ə-năt′ə-mē /

1. The structure of an organism or any of its parts.

2. The scientific study of the shape and structure of organisms and their parts.

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anatomy Cultural  

1. The structure of an animal or plant; also, the study of this structure through techniques such as microscopic observation and dissection. (Compare morphology and physiology.)

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Etymology

Origin of anatomy

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin anatomia, from Greek anatom(ḗ) “dissection” (from ana- ana- + tomḗ “a cutting,” noun derivative of témnein “to cut”) + -ia -y ³

Explanation

If you're studying anatomy you're studying animals’ bodies and you're probably dissecting them, too. You might study the anatomy of a pig to see how it relates to human anatomy. You’ll find that only one of them has a snout. Ever heard of Gray's Anatomy — not the TV show, but the 1858 medical textbook by Henry Gray? It’s been revised many times, but it’s still the standard text, with detailed descriptions of the parts of the human body. The word anatomy can apply to anything you're analyzing in detail. If you're writing an anatomy of your piano, you'll describe the parts and how they work. Anatomy goes back to the Greek roots ana, meaning "up," and temnein "to cut."

Example Sentences

This ranges from shapes captured on trails or infrared cameras to a howl or witness testimony, allowing Bigfooters to hypothesise what that means about the beast's "anatomy, behaviour, sociality and levels of intelligence".

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

"Setting the anatomy and proportions requires visualisation from multiple angles and repeated adjustments," he said.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

To solve this, the team analyzed the horses' vocal anatomy, reviewed clinical data, and carried out detailed acoustic studies.

From Science Daily • Feb. 25, 2026

Cut into it and you’ll reveal its delicate anatomy — layers of leaves, in shades of light green or purple, all tightly packed into one big ball.

From Salon • Feb. 21, 2026

Unfortunately the lecture was on cellular anatomy, something I’d already studied.

From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer