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

Explanation

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."

Example Sentences

“This was just another nail in that coffin that this has to stop,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

King Tutankhamun’s tomb, containing the pharaoh’s solid-gold inner coffin and death mask.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

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

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

After Andrea died in September, Diaco helped carry her coffin at her funeral.

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026

Carried from his cottage, his coffin lay in the main hall of the house, where he and Gracy had been married.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Related Words

• crate
• sarcophagus