carcass

or car·case

[ kahr-kuhs ]

noun

1. the dead body of an animal.
2. Slang. the body of a human being, whether living or dead.
3. the body of a slaughtered animal after removal of the offal.
4. anything from which life and power are gone:

   The mining town, now a mere carcass, is a reminder of a past era.

5. an unfinished framework or skeleton, as of a house or ship.
6. the body of a furniture piece designed for storage, as a chest of drawers or wardrobe, without the drawers, doors, hardware, etc.
7. the inner body of a pneumatic tire, resisting by its tensile strength the pressure of the air within the tire, and protected by the tread and other parts.

verb (used with object)

1. to erect the framework for (a building, ship, etc.).

carcass

/ ˈkɑːkəs /

noun

1. the dead body of an animal, esp one that has been slaughtered for food, with the head, limbs, and entrails removed
2. informal.
   a person's body
3. the skeleton or framework of a structure
4. the remains of anything when its life or vitality is gone; shell

Other Words From

• carcass·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of carcass¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; from Middle French carcasse, from Italian carcassa; replacing Middle English carkeis, carkois, from Anglo-French, corresponding to Medieval Latin carcosium; ultimately origin obscure

Word History and Origins

Origin of carcass¹

C14: from Old French carcasse, of obscure origin

Synonym Study

See body.

Example Sentences

As scavengers, vultures always look for the next carcass.

From Science Daily

The carcass—containing the head, forelimbs, and front part of the animal—was discovered encased in a chunk of ice in 2020 near the Badyarikha River in northern Siberia, above the Arctic Circle.

From Science Magazine

And we can lay all this suffering at the feet of the pitiful carcass of what used to be the Republican party.

From Salon

No one knows how the fungus arrived in North America, but it has spread rapidly across the U.S. and Canada, leaving legions of bat carcasses in its death march.

From Los Angeles Times

“Virus will survive on the carcass surface — not for long at 100 degrees — but temperature and acidification pretty rapidly neutralize it in the carcass, at least influenza viruses.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• frame
• framework
• hulk
• skeleton
• structure