coffer

1 of 2

noun

cof·​fer ˈkȯ-fər 

ˈkä-

1

: chest

Among the items at the auction was an 18th-century oak coffer.

especially : strongbox

put the money in the coffer

2

: treasury, funds

—usually used in plural

… public coffers running dry in a bleak economy …

—Vivienne Walt and Roya Wolverson

corporate coffers

3

: a recessed panel in a vault, ceiling, or soffit

ceiling coffers

coffer

2 of 2

verb

coffered; coffering; coffers

transitive verb

1

: to store or hoard up in a coffer

coffered his military memorabilia

2

: to form (something, such as a ceiling) with recessed panels

A ceiling that is coffered will bring an added dimension to a large room.

Synonyms

Noun

• safe
• safe-deposit box
• strongbox

Examples of coffer in a Sentence

Noun

kept the jewels in a locked coffer

let me see what's in the household coffers and I'll get back to you about making a donation

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

That's expected to deliver about $1 billion to GM's coffers. —Jamie L. Lareau, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2024

Yankees Up Their Offer Because the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers were also finalists for Fried, according to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the Yankees reached deep into their coffers to secure the pitcher’s signature. —Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 10 Dec. 2024

Verb

This was an incredible claim given the amount of money that came sluicing into the family coffers thanks to the generosity of dubious foreign actors. —Rich Lowry, Boston Herald, 4 Dec. 2024

James, however, still had far more in his own campaign coffers to spend than Marlinga, even though Marlinga outraised his opponent slightly in a recent reporting period, according to Federal Election Commission records. —Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cofre, coffre, borrowed from Anglo-French, altered (with n to r) from Latin cophinus "large basket, hamper" (sense "chest" attested in early Medieval Latin), borrowed from Greek kóphinos "large basket" — more at coffin entry 1

Verb

Middle English cofren, derivative of cofre coffer entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

coffer

noun

cof·​fer

ˈkȯ-fər,

ˈkäf-ər

1

: a box used especially to store money and valuables

2

: treasury sense 1, funds

—usually used in plural