casket
Americannoun
-
a coffin.
-
a small chest or box, as for jewels.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a small box or chest for valuables, esp jewels
-
another name for coffin
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing casket
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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.
The design on the tub featured photos of the Millions sweets, made by Scottish confectionery manufacturer Golden Casket Ltd.
From BBC • Aug. 6, 2025
When Taylor Swift debuted the music video for her new single “Anti-Hero” last Friday, it featured an unlikely star: a fancy-looking “Orion” casket from Titan Casket, a direct-to-consumer company based in Bellevue and Andover, Massachusetts.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 25, 2022
It was made by a company called Titan Casket, and co-founder Joshua Siegel is eager to talk up his product’s cameo, as well as the broader casket context.
From Slate • Oct. 25, 2022
Casket prices range from less than $1,000 for a wood box to $25,000 or more for elaborate models.
From Washington Post • Sep. 29, 2022
It is one of the points in the discussion about the famous Casket letters that she could not write Scots.
From Royal Edinburgh Her Saints, Kings, Prophets and Poets by Reid, George
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.
