post·mor·tem
ˌpōs(t)-ˈmȯr-təm 
1
: done, occurring, or collected after death
postmortem tissue specimens
2
: following the event
1
2
: an analysis or discussion of an event after it is over
Synonyms
Examples of postmortem in a Sentence
Adjective
postmortem tests on the brain tissue of people who had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease
Noun
A postmortem showed that the man had been poisoned.
Party leaders are conducting a postmortem of the election to try to find out what went wrong.
Recent Examples on the Web
Brian Spegele, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2022
The vertical occipital fasciculus, or VOF, is identified in a postmortem human brain in 1909, but labeled with a different name.
—Jenny Blair, Discover Magazine, 1 Oct. 2015
Alex Pozhitkov, The Conversation, 12 Sep. 2024
Late-deciding respondents were as likely to support Biden as Trump, and neither inaccurate weighting by education nor inaccurate estimates of the electorate as a whole were the culprits, per an industry postmortem on polling published in 2022.
—Christian Paz, Vox, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for postmortem 
Adjective
In recent years, that has appeared in postmortem blood samples of drug users in Europe and the U.S.
—Brian Spegele, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2022
The vertical occipital fasciculus, or VOF, is identified in a postmortem human brain in 1909, but labeled with a different name.
—Jenny Blair, Discover Magazine, 1 Oct. 2015
Noun
In mice, skeletal muscle cells can be regrown after 14 days postmortem, while fibroblast cells from sheep and goats can be cultured up to a month or so postmortem.
—Alex Pozhitkov, The Conversation, 12 Sep. 2024
Late-deciding respondents were as likely to support Biden as Trump, and neither inaccurate weighting by education nor inaccurate estimates of the electorate as a whole were the culprits, per an industry postmortem on polling published in 2022.
—Christian Paz, Vox, 10 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for postmortem
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'postmortem.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near postmortem
Cite this Entry
“Postmortem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/postmortem. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
postmortem
1 of 2 adjective
post·mor·tem
(ˈ)pōs(t)-ˈmȯrt-əm
: done or occurring after death
postmortem
2 of 2 noun1
: autopsy
2
: an analysis or discussion of an event after it is over
Medical Definition
postmortem
1 of 3 adjective
post·mor·tem
(ˈ)pōst-ˈmȯrt-əm
: done, occurring, or collected after death
postmortem tissue specimens
postmortem
2 of 3 noun
: autopsy
post-mortem
3 of 3 adverb
post-mor·tem
: after death
seven cases examined post-mortem
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