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

Dutifully but vacantly, he keeps an all-night vigil by her coffin.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

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

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

During the ceremony, uniformed soldiers silently carried a flag-draped coffin from a C-17 aircraft to a transfer vehicle while Vance, Hegseth and Caine saluted.

From Barron's • Mar. 10, 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

The ceremony in the church took about half an hour; there was a blessing, and then the coffin was lowered and the freezing mourners departed.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• crate
• sarcophagus