n. pl. au·top·sies 1. Examination of a cadaver to determine or confirm the cause of death. Also called necropsy, postmortem, postmortem examination. 2. A critical assessment or examination after the fact: a post-election campaign autopsy. tr.v. au·top·sied, au·top·sying, au·top·sies To subject to an autopsy. [Greek autopsiā, a seeing for oneself : auto-, auto- + opsis, sight; see okw- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] au·topsic, au·topsi·cal adj. autop′sist n. |
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