autopsy

/ˈɔːtɒpsiː/

//ˈɔːtɒpsiː// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"autopsy" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“autopsy” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,465. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,465
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
10
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A dissection performed on a cadaver to find possible cause(s) of death.

Corpus desk

Index EN-autopsy · autopsy · English

autopsy · rank #13,465 · 10 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,465
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH Baltic

Nearest frequency peer: Baltic (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “autopsy”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “autopsy” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for autopsy
PropertyValue
Headwordautopsy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɔːtɒpsiː/
Letters7
Frequency rank#13,465
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “autopsy”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).autopsylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Baltic” (#13,466), “attained” (#13,463), “arse” (#13,462). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “autopsy” is #13,465. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around autopsy (IPA /ˈɔːtɒpsiː/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,465 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for autopsy, with forms such as "atuopsy", "auotpsy", and "autoppsy". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin autopsia, from Ancient Greek αὐτοψῐ́ᾱ (autopsĭ́ā, “seeing with one's own eyes”). By surface analysis, auto- + -opsy. The correct English form is autopsy, spelled A-U-T-O-P-S-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A dissection performed on a cadaver to find possible cause(s) of death.
  2. 2
    An after-the-fact examination, especially of the causes of a failure.
  3. 3
    An eyewitness observation, the presentation of an event as witnessed.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how autopsy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The autopsy revealed he had died of multiple bullet wounds.
  2. This lack of built-in clutter makes the system easy to comprehend. Debugging facilities are few but powerful: snapshots, tracing, and autopsy.

Etymology

From New Latin autopsia, from Ancient Greek αὐτοψῐ́ᾱ (autopsĭ́ā, “seeing with one's own eyes”). By surface analysis, auto- + -opsy.

This word in other languages

autopsia(Español)autopsie(Français)Obduktion(Deutsch)autópsia(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atuopsy
  • auotpsy
  • autoppsy
  • autopssy
  • autopsyy
  • autopys
  • autospy
  • autposy
  • auttopsy
  • uatopsy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of autopsy - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

atuopsy2auotpsy2autoppsy1autopssy1autopsyy1autopys2autospy2autposy2
Edit distance from "autopsy"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "autopsy"?
"autopsy" is spelled A-U-T-O-P-S-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɔːtɒpsiː/.
What does "autopsy" mean?
As a noun, "autopsy" means: A dissection performed on a cadaver to find possible cause(s) of death.
What are common misspellings of "autopsy"?
Common misspellings include "atuopsy", "auotpsy", "autoppsy", "autopssy", "autopsyy". The correct spelling is "autopsy".
How do you pronounce "autopsy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "autopsy" is /ˈɔːtɒpsiː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "autopsy"?
From New Latin autopsia, from Ancient Greek αὐτοψῐ́ᾱ (autopsĭ́ā, “seeing with one's own eyes”). By surface analysis, auto- + -opsy. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "autopsy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

brushed#13,473cashier#13,478accents#13,451Claudia#13,482

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Cologne10 variantstelecom10 variantsdungeon10 variantsshampoo10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list