bier

as in coffin
a boxlike container for holding a dead body lifted the bier from its stand and placed it in the hearse for its final journey

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bier The Senate may well have all been murdered on Lucilla’s weird, theater-y funeral bier. Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 22 Nov. 2024 Among the changes, the new rites eliminate the practice of placing the pope on an elevated bier in St. Peter's Basilica for public viewing. Matt Robison, Newsweek, 20 Nov. 2024 The Crockett Chamber of Commerce Oktoberfest will feature live polka music, axe throwing, a classic car show and a yodeling contest, plus German bier, brezen and wurstle. Brittany Delay, The Mercury News, 5 Sep. 2024 Kim Jong-un visited the bier of Mr. Kim early Wednesday to pay tribute. Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 8 May 2024 Kim Ki-nam was one of the seven top Workers’ Party officials and People’s Army generals who joined Kim Jong-un to escort the bier of Kim Jong-il, who died in 2011. Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 8 May 2024 In it, Gracchus arrives at a port borne on a bier. Anthony Domestico, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2021 On Sunday, Benedict’s body lay on a burgundy-colored bier in the chapel of the monastery. Frances D'emilio, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Jan. 2023 The funeral director led me into the empty chapel: the coffin was on a bier near a door, where, on the other side, the hearse was parked and waiting. David Gilbert, The New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bier
Noun
  • In the end, this deception will just be another nail in the coffin of legacy media.
    Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025
  • At one funeral in Ankara, the coffins of a family of five were lined up at the central Ahmet Hamdi Akseki mosque.
    Reuters, NBC News, 22 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Easton had his wife’s body placed in an open casket.
    Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 26 Jan. 2025
  • The show struggles a bit in places to credibly evoke the relative innocence (or quiet oppression) of the 1970s and there are some moments of cluttered staging that just don’t work; as one example, a big gag involving kids hiding in a coffin kinda needs a casket to work.
    Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • In it, a small baby lies on a tomb of red velvet, her skin and dress a rocky gray (Eguiguren Arte de Hispanomérica, D10) and eye sockets blank, an icy contrast to the fresh roses and wildflowers with which she is adorned.
    Walker Mimms, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
  • On the thirteenth-century tomb of Eleanor of Aquitaine, she is shown wide awake and reading, while her dull and kingly husband sleeps for all eternity.
    Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near bier

Cite this Entry

“Bier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bier. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on bier

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!