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

The coffins contained the skeletons of five women, two men and three children. —Brie Stimson, Fox News, 3 Nov. 2024

The top plate features a ghost, a wee gravestone, and a coffin. —Simon Hill, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2024

The roughly seven-by-seven-foot monument, topped with a stone replica of a coffin adorned with firefighting tools, stands as silent witness to a time when this land did not crawl with life. —Christina Ray Stanton, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Oct. 2024

Lightner and his boss grab a scroll from a coffin and then get outta there, locking the aboveground grave on their way out. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 11 Oct. 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