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 of coffer

Noun

• vault
• 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

The good news is that right now, only the looming IPOs of Anthropic, which will be wildly oversubscribed, and OpenAI, which will be far more tepid, stand in the way of the next run for the market, as the coffers seem to be replenishing. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 21 June 2026

Some hawkish Republicans are aghast that Trump is getting behind a settlement that could put billions of dollars into Iran’s coffers. —Jamey Keaten, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2026

Verb

Ossoff, who has already amassed more than $32 million in his campaign coffers, according to the Federal Election Commission, likely needs to win for Democrats to gain control of the U.S. Senate, where Republicans currently hold a 53-47 advantage. —Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 16 June 2026

According to him, there is state money to help and cover costs to prevent going back into the city coffers. —Chris Hoffman, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026

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

Rhymes for coffer

• offer
• proffer
• scoffer
• counteroffer
• spermatophore

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