postmortem

[ pohst-mawr-tuhm ]
See synonyms for postmortem on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of, relating to, or occurring in the time following death.

  2. of or relating to examination of the body after death.

  1. occurring after the end of something; after the event: a postmortem criticism of a television show.

adverb
  1. after death: Pacemakers have to be removed postmortem from bodies that are going to be cremated.

noun
  1. Medicine/Medical. a postmortem examination; autopsy.

  2. an evaluation or discussion occurring after the end or fact of something: to do a postmortem on the decision of a court.

  1. Cards. a discussion of the bidding or playing of a previous hand.

Origin of postmortem

1
First recorded in 1725–35, postmortem is from Latin post mortem “after death”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use postmortem in a sentence

  • Of course you will give notice to the coroner, and there will be a post-mortem?

    The Dark House | Georg Manville Fenn
  • Liégeois,55 in post-mortem examinations, twice found mature ova in girls two years of age.

  • What attracted most attention to this case was the strange incident at the post-mortem examination.

    Poisons: Their Effects and Detection | Alexander Wynter Blyth
  • For being present at a post-mortem and rendering an opinion thereon, each physician received $1.75.

  • These post-mortem inquiries, like all other functions of the time, presented most ridiculous contrasts.

    The Broken Sword | Dennison Worthington

British Dictionary definitions for postmortem

postmortem

/ (pəʊstˈmɔːtəm) /


adjective
  1. (prenominal) occurring after death

noun
  1. analysis or study of a recently completed event: a postmortem on a game of chess

Origin of postmortem

1
C18: from Latin, literally: after death

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

Cultural definitions for postmortem

postmortem

[ (pohst-mawr-tuhm) ]


Autopsy; figuratively, any analysis that follows an event: “When the convention is over, we'll have a postmortem to find ways of improving it for next year.” From Latin, meaning “after death.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.