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

• 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

But that figure set a franchise record — highest-ever premiere gross — and given the tendency of the films kickstarted by 2013's The Conjuring to endure in theaters long after their opens, Last Rites is sure to keep adding to its coffers. —Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Sep. 2025

Free cash flow is the money that remains in a company's coffers after operating expenses and capital expenditures are covered. —Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 12 Sep. 2025

Verb

Miami-Dade also no longer benefits from hundreds of millions in dollars of federal COVID and stimulus dollars that flowed into county coffers during the pandemic. —Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 7 Aug. 2025

Khanna, whose California district is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, had roughly $14.2 million in his campaign coffers at the end of June, according to the latest Federal Election Commission report. —Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 2 Aug. 2025

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

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