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autopsy

American  
[aw-top-see, aw-tuhp-] / ˈɔ tɒp si, ˈɔ təp- /

noun

plural

autopsies

  1. inspection and dissection of a body after death, as for determination of the cause of death; postmortem examination.

  2. an analysis of something after it has been done or made.

verb (used with object)

autopsied, autopsying

  1. to perform an autopsy on.

autopsy British  
/ ɔːˈtɒp-, ˈɔːtəpsɪ /

noun

  1. Also called: necropsy.   postmortem examination.  dissection and examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death

  2. an eyewitness observation

  3. any critical analysis

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
autopsy Scientific  
/ ô′tŏp′sē /

  1. A medical examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death or to study pathologic changes.

Other Word Forms

  • autopsist noun

Etymology

Origin of autopsy

1645–55; (< Middle French autopsie ) < Greek autopsía a seeing with one's own eyes, equivalent to aut- aut- + óps ( is ) -opsis + -ia -y 3

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.