noun
postmortem
pohst-MOR-tuhm
Postmortem (noun) means an examination of a dead body carried out to establish how the person died. Example: “The postmortem showed the cause of death was heart failure.”
noun
1
An examination of a dead body carried out to establish how the person died.
"The postmortem showed the cause of death was heart failure."
"A postmortem has been ordered by the coroner."
2
A review held after a project, event or failure to work out what happened and what should be done differently.
"We ran a blameless postmortem the day after the outage."
"The campaign postmortem was brutal but useful."
adjective
1
Occurring or carried out after death.
"Postmortem changes to the tissue helped establish the time of death."
How to use postmortem
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn examination after death — or, at work, a meeting to work out why something went wrong.
When to use it
Written postmortem in American English and often post-mortem in British English. Sense 2 is standard in engineering and business.
Memory tip
A retrospective looks at a whole period of work, good and bad. A postmortem is normally triggered by a specific failure.
Trace the full origin ↓
Easily confused with
Common pairings
conduct a postmortem
postmortem examination
blameless postmortem
postmortem report
Vocabulary Flow
Build your vocabulary from words like postmortem.
Vocabulary Flow serves the next word, and the next — meaning, pronunciation and an example each time. Practice at your level, or learn English in your own language.
Start vocabulary practice
Fill the gap
Can you complete this real example?
The _____ showed the cause of death was heart failure.
Etymology
From Latin post mortem, "after death".
Synonyms
View more →Antonyms
Related words
Rhymes for postmortem
See all rhymes for postmortem →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a postmortem and an autopsy?
In practice they mean the same procedure, and postmortem is simply short for post-mortem examination. Autopsy is the more common word in American medical usage; postmortem is preferred in Britain. Necropsy is the term used for animals.
What is a blameless postmortem?
It is a review of an incident conducted on the explicit understanding that no individual will be punished for what is uncovered. The aim is to get an honest account of how the system allowed the failure, on the basis that people hide facts when they fear blame.
Is it postmortem or post-mortem?
Both are correct. American English generally closes it up as postmortem; British English keeps the hyphen, especially in the medical sense. Be consistent within a single document.
What is the meaning of postmortem?
"postmortem" (noun) means an examination of a dead body carried out to establish how the person died.
