coffin

1 of 2

noun

cof·​fin ˈkȯ-fən 

: a box or chest for burying a corpse compare casket

coffin

2 of 2

verb

coffined; coffining; coffins

transitive verb

: to enclose in or as if in a coffin

Synonyms

Noun

• bier
• box
• casket
• pall
• sarcophagus

Examples of coffin in a Sentence

Noun

coffins are said to be the preferred sleeping places of vampires

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Horror fans can chow down on popcorn from inside the coffin while watching Orlok haunt Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Emma Corrin in Nosferatu, the latest from director Robert Eggers. —Tommy McArdle, People.com, 27 Dec. 2024

To cope, the 15-year-old has become obsessed with death, sharing weird death facts, flipping through coffin brochures, planning his funeral. —Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024

Knock's escape is less of a focus in the remake, and he's now killed inside a coffin. —Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 25 Dec. 2024

To revel in the dark arts of Nosferatu (Bill Skarsgård), aka Count Orlok, the lord of the Carpathian mountains from whose Transylvanian digs a coffin will be delivered with its daylight-averse passenger to Germany. —Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 22 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cofyn, coffyn "basket, hamper" (in translations from Latin), "chest, box," borrowed from Anglo-French cofin, coffin "basket, chest, container," borrowed from Latin cophinus "large basket, hamper," borrowed from Greek kóphinos "large basket," of pre-Greek substratal origin

Verb

derivative of coffin entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1525, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1564, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing coffin

• a nail in the/someone's coffin
• coffin bone
• coffin corner
• coffin nail

Kids Definition

coffin

noun

cof·​fin

ˈkȯ-fən

: a box or case to hold a dead body