carcass

noun

car·​cass ˈkär-kəs 

1

: a dead body : corpse

especially : the dressed body of a meat animal

Butchers trimmed the meat from the carcass.

2

: the living, material, or physical body

It was nearly noon when he finally hauled his carcass out of bed.

3

: the decaying or worthless remains of a structure

the carcass of an abandoned automobile

4

: the underlying structure or frame of something (as of a piece of furniture)

Synonyms

• bones
• cadaver
• corpse
• corpus
• corse [archaic]
• relics
• remains
• stiff

Examples of carcass in a Sentence

the rusting carcass of an old truck

the carcass of a squirrel that had been run over

Recent Examples on the Web

The big picture: The city's Solid Waste Management Department will accept rotten jack-o'-lantern carcasses and other pumpkin remnants today through Dec. 6 — a longer window than in past years. —Shafaq Patel, Axios, 1 Nov. 2024

The workers were removing carcasses and litter and cleaning facilities where about 800,000 chickens were culled, the health department said. —Reuters, NBC News, 22 Oct. 2024

The state Department of Transportation pays contractors to manage carcasses on interstates, U.S. and state highways, while counties manage other local roads. —Cleo Krejci, Journal Sentinel, 10 Oct. 2024

These massive birds, with their wingspans stretching nearly 10 ft., play a crucial role in the ecosystem as scavengers, cleaning up carcasses that could carry disease and recycling nutrients back into the environment. —Rebecca Shaw, TIME, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English carcays, from Anglo-French carcas, carkeis

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

carcass

noun

car·​cass ˈkär-kəs 

: a dead body

especially : the body of a meat animal prepared for market

Medical Definition

carcass

noun

car·​cass ˈkär-kəs 

: a dead body : corpse

especially : the dressed body of a meat animal