casket

American  

[kas-kit, kah-skit] / ˈkæs kɪt, ˈkɑ skɪt /

noun

caskets plural

1. a coffin.

2. a small chest or box, as for jewels.

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verb (used with object)

1. to put or enclose in a casket.

casket British  

/ ˈkɑːskɪt /

noun

1. a small box or chest for valuables, esp jewels

2. another name for coffin

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• casketlike
  adjective
• uncasketed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• caskets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of casket

1425–75; late Middle English < ?

Explanation

A casket is a coffin, or a box in which the body of a dead person is buried. Some funeral traditions include a chance for mourners to see the deceased in the casket before burial. Most caskets are made of wood — some plain, and others more ornamental. Many caskets are buried in cemeteries, although others are cremated, or burned to ash, depending on religious and personal preferences. You can also use the word casket to mean "small box," particularly a box for jewelry or other precious items, and this is the word's earliest meaning, from the Old French cassette, a diminutive form of case.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

casket caskets

When he went to see his friend, Bush told Banyard the deceased "didn't look good", so the lid of the casket was kept down.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

On Wednesday, Khamenei’s casket will be transported to Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, where Iran supports numerous armed groups, and where many among the Shia majority population regard Khamenei as a religious authority.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

Traditional leaders and some locals wanted to burn the compromised casket.

From Barron's ● May 24, 2026

QLAYAA, Lebanon — The bells rang, their peals obscuring the buzz of the Israeli drone overhead as the casket of Father Pierre al-Rahi arrived at the parish he had served.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026

And so Hoover sent a bouquet of flowers, which was laid upon the casket as it disappeared into the ground.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Funeral homes charge for embalming, caskets, vaults and funeral services.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026

Indian authorities said an inscription on one of the caskets unearthed with the treasure confirmed the contents -- which include bone fragments -- as "relics of the Buddha".

From Barron's ● Jan. 3, 2026

Saeed and Tia were buried the day after they died, by Rihab’s father and uncles, in temporary wooden caskets in an unmarked grave in Dahieh.

From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2024

The point of opening the caskets of our forgotten history is to foster the self-understanding necessary to empower the work of creating a future that upholds the democratic creed that “all men are created equal.”

From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2024

We all talked nervously, not looking at the stack of silver caskets that were being loaded on.

From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers