coffin

¹ 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 ² 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 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

“It’s just, if you will, another nail in the coffin of us standing in the world.”

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

I find this really irritating for about 150 reasons, one of which is that in an ever-automated world, it’s another nail in the coffin of human interaction.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2026

He was buried Monday in a gold-colored coffin in a cemetery near the military base in Zapopan.

From Barron's • Mar. 6, 2026

After an hour-long ceremony, the mourners - many of whom concealed their identities using face masks - followed the coffin as it was carried to the grave.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026

It was an historical subject, painted at my father’s desire, and represented Caroline Beaufort in an agony of despair, kneeling by the coffin of her dead father.

From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

Related Words

• crate
• sarcophagus