Coffin

¹ American  

[kaw-fin, kof-in] / ˈkɔ fɪn, ˈkɒf ɪn /

noun

1. Levi, 1798–1877, U.S. abolitionist leader.

2. Robert P(eter) Tristram, 1892–1955, U.S. poet, essayist, and biographer.

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coffin ² American  

[kaw-fin, kof-in] / ˈkɔ fɪn, ˈkɒf ɪn /

noun

1. the box or case in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial; casket.

2. the part of a horse's foot containing the coffin bone.

3. Printing.

   1. the bed of a platen press.

   2. the wooden frame around the bed of an early wooden press.

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verb (used with object)

1. to put or enclose in or as in a coffin.

coffin British  

/ ˈkɒfɪn /

noun

1. a box in which a corpse is buried or cremated

2. the part of a horse's foot that contains the coffin bone

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verb

1. (tr) to place in or as in a coffin

2. engineering another name for flask

Other Word Forms

• coffinless adjective
• uncoffin verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of coffin

1300–50; Middle English cofin < Old North French < Latin cophinus < Greek kóphinos a kind of basket

Example Sentences

Four Swiss police officers carried each coffin into the Italian air force transport plane at Sion Airport in southwest Switzerland.

From Barron's

The teenagers' coffins were transported from a funeral centre in Sion, southwest Switzerland, to the military section of the city's airport.

From Barron's

GREENVILLE, N.C.—Nine people are being placed in coffins with provisions including pillows, carbon-dioxide monitors and snacks, then lowered into the earth and covered with packed dirt.

From The Wall Street Journal

The first mission saw the players set out on boats to retrieve floating coffins, dozens of which were spread out over a nearby loch.

From BBC

The Escalade IQ looks like the coffin of a prized racehorse.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• crate
• sarcophagus