casket
Americannoun
-
caskets
plural
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
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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.
See Examples For:
“We found the company, which is still in L.A., that made the ‘Helena’ casket that’s in a music video and they said, ‘We can make you an exact replica,’” adds Gomez.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
His body was returned to Serbia on a government plane on Thursday, with his casket draped in flags and received with military honours.
From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026
That music accompanies us from birth to death is underscored by the giant guitar-case-shaped casket, “For a Musician,” produced by Ghanaian artist Paa Joe in 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Video footage showed mourners pushing and shoving each other to get close to the casket as it was carried by hand through the mausoleum's halls.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
The Crabtrees were so mad and hurt and ashamed, they took a pine casket out to the cemetery and put him right under, and to this day there isn’t a marker on his grave.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
In Tehran, a flatbed truck, decorated with intricate latticework and Arabic Islamic script, carried five caskets, painted in the green, red and white of Iran's flag, including the smallest for Khamenei's 14-month-old granddaughter Zara.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
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
She balked at the idea of a traditional burial, calling caskets and tombstones “a racket.”
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2025
Abraham Lincoln’s and John F. Kennedy’s caskets had also lain there for viewing.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
