coffin
noun
the box or case in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial; casket.
coffin
1 American
[kaw-fin, kof-in]
/ ˈkɔ fɪn, ˈkɒf ɪn /
noun
-
coffins
plural
-
the box or case in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial; casket.
-
the part of a horse's foot containing the coffin bone.
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Printing.
-
the bed of a platen press.
-
the wooden frame around the bed of an early wooden press.
-
verb (used with object)
Coffin
2
American
[kaw-fin, kof-in]
/ ˈkɔ fɪn, ˈkɒf ɪn /
noun
-
Levi, 1798–1877, U.S. abolitionist leader.
-
Robert P(eter) Tristram, 1892–1955, U.S. poet, essayist, and biographer.
coffin
British
/ ˈkɒfɪn /
noun
-
a box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
-
the part of a horse's foot that contains the coffin bone
verb
-
(tr) to place in or as in a coffin
-
engineering another name for flask
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of coffin
1300–50; Middle English cofin < Old North French < Latin cophinus < Greek kóphinos a kind of basket
Explanation
The long wooden box in which a dead body is kept for burial or cremation is called a coffin. At a graveside funeral, you'll see the coffin lowered into a grave. Most coffins are made of wood, though they can also be steel, fiberglass, or bamboo. A coffin is generally thought of as the same thing as a casket, although some people distinguish between a six-sided coffin and a four-sided casket. The earliest meaning of coffin, from the 14th century, was "box for valuables," from the Latin cophinus, "basket or hamper," and the Greek root kophinos, "a basket."
Vocabulary lists containing coffin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A number of stories are tied to the sensational mystery that arises when Eliza May’s coffin is opened and found to be empty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
“I would leave the pitch in a coffin for him,” former Chelsea captain John Terry said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Some threw flowers onto the hearse carrying her coffin, which was draped in the Welsh flag and accompanied by a framed photograph of the singer.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
It has since been confirmed that her coffin will be brought to her Mumbles home on 15 August at 15:30 BST.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Everyone was waiting for me now, so I crouched down and grabbed a big handful of dirt and sprinkled it onto the coffin.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
During this adventure, director Pierre Coffin, who also voices the little guys, also references “King Kong,” “Casablanca” and “Citizen Kane.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
It’s not historically accurate, but it is a way for Coffin to pack in more tributes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
In the second half, Mr. Coffin seems to run out of knowledge of, or interest in, old-school Hollywood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
French animator Pierre Coffin created the Minions and still voices them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Isabel Hussey and Louise Sharpe both turned out to be descendants of a member of the Coffin family on Nantucket Island.
From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett
The earliest burials were generally spaced apart from one another, and the bodies were placed inside coffins.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
Tributes on Chinese social media revived Zhu’s most quotable lines, including his vow that he had prepared “100 coffins, 99 for corrupt officials and one for myself.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Women leaned from apartment windows, filming the march on their phones, while others scattered rice and rose petals over the men carrying the coffins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Inside the packed hall, dozens sang mournful songs as the three white coffins stood in the centre of the room, each placed beside a smiling photograph.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
In cobwebby stone-lidded coffins, as in the horror comics?
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
