noun
- the dead body of an animal.
- Slang. the body of a human being, whether living or dead.
- the body of a slaughtered animal after removal of the offal.
- anything from which life and power are gone: The mining town, now a mere carcass, is a reminder of a past era.
- an unfinished framework or skeleton, as of a house or ship.
- the body of a furniture piece designed for storage, as a chest of drawers or wardrobe, without the drawers, doors, hardware, etc.
- the inner body of a pneumatic tire, resisting by its tensile strength the pressure of the air within the tire, and protected by the tread and other parts.
verb (used with object)
- to erect the framework for (a building, ship, etc.).
noun
- the dead body of an animal, esp one that has been slaughtered for food, with the head, limbs, and entrails removed
- informal, usually facetious, or derogatory a person’s body
- the skeleton or framework of a structure
- the remains of anything when its life or vitality is gone; shell
late 13c., from Anglo-French carcois, from or influenced by Old French charcois (Modern French carcasse) “trunk of a body, chest, carcass,” and Anglo-Latin carcosium “dead body,” all of uncertain origin. Not used of humans after c.1750, except contemptuously. Italian carcassa probably is a French loan word.