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.
Printing.
the bed of a platen press.
the wooden frame around the bed of an early wooden press.
Levi, 1798–1877, U.S. abolitionist leader.
Robert P(eter) Tristram, 1892–1955, U.S. poet, essayist, and biographer.
a box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
the part of a horse's foot that contains the coffin bone
(tr) to place in or as in a coffin
engineering another name for flask
1300–50; Middle English cofin < Old North French < Latin cophinus < Greek kóphinos a kind of basket
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."
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They will include his granddaughter, aged just 14 months according to official media, whose coffin was also emblazoned with Iran's tricolour flag.
From Barron's • Jul. 3, 2026
The state funeral of Khamenei’s predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989, drew an estimated 10 million mourners and prompted chaotic scenes, in which officials nearly lost control of his coffin.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 3, 2026
Coughlan also said that the recent heatwaves, which saw the south east of England swelter in temperatures as high as 35C, had been the "nail in the coffin" for the firm.
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026
Supporters weren't even back from the stadium before another nail was slammed into the Scotland World Cup coffin.
From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026
Some newspapers around the world reported that the body wasn’t actually dug up but that a drill was inserted through the earth, then through the coffin and into Bobby’s body.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
