Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

post mortem

/ˌpoʊs(t)ˈmɔɹtəm/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.16 in modern English

Syllables: post -mortem
IPA: /ˌpoʊs(t)ˈmɔɹtəm/

16

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

After death.

adj

Having been inflicted or having occurred after death.

adv

Occurring after death.

noun

An investigation of a corpse to determine the cause of death.

noun

Any investigation after the conclusion of an activity, particularly when said activity produces an unwanted outcome.

noun

At Cambridge, a second examination for those who were "plucked" or failed in the first.

British usage; Obsolete

Example Sentences

"The hospice's standard procedure for post mortem room cleaning looks very thorough."
"We shouldn't let these post mortem injuries distract us while looking for the cause of death."
"The post mortem timeline is incomplete."
"The injuries were found to have been caused post mortem."
"Nor had the post mortem on Newson's body revealed any illness or other physical condition that might have prevented him from applying the brake, although after four days in the oven-like heat of the wreckage, the body was so badly decomposed as to make any reliable post mortem results unlikely."
"Each user-visible outage or SLA violation should be followed by a postmortem and conclude with implementation of the recommendations in the postmortem report."

Etymology

From Latin post (“afterwards”) + mortem, from mors (“death”).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: *mer-, post

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌpoʊs(t)ˈmɔɹtəm/
British English: /ˌpəʊs(t)ˈmɔːtəm/

Usage

British usage
Obsolete

Inflected Forms

postmortem (alternative) post-mortem (alternative) post mortems (plural)

Phrases

inquisition post mortem post mortem auctoris pre-mortem have the drains up

Frequently Paired Words

perimortem have the drains up post mortem auctoris antemortem premortem

Synonyms

autopsy PM debriefing AAR posthumous post obitum posthumously

Antonyms

antemortem anthumous predeath prehumous premortem anthumously prehumously

Questions

How do you pronounce post mortem?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌpoʊs(t)ˈmɔɹtəm/.
What does post mortem mean?: After death.
Where does post mortem come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce post mortem

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “post mortem”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌpoʊs(t)ˈmɔɹtəm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “post mortem”.
Repeat and practice — Say “post mortem” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.