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

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Example 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 While lying in state, the coffin was placed not on an elevated bier, but facing the pews. Rachel Treisman, NPR, 25 Apr. 2025 Inside the 16th-century basilica, his casket won't be put on an elevated bier—as was the case with past popes—but will just be placed on the main alta, simply facing the pews. Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025 Last year, Francis approved new funeral rites stating his body should be on view in a simple coffin rather than being placed on an elevated bier, per the Associated Press. Kirsty Hatcher, People.com, 22 Apr. 2025 But, under the new funeral structure, the pope will be laid directly into an open coffin, eliminating the use of the bier. Alec Schemmel, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025 The German microbrewery/restaurant has installed new TVs in its bier hall and at the bar for your viewing pleasure. Sam Allard, Axios, 7 Feb. 2025 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bier
Noun
  • The content drew attention to the country’s inequality by contrasting the lives of the children of the country’s elite – with designer clothing and foreign vacations – with images of Nepali migrant workers returning home in coffins from dangerous jobs abroad.
    Nir Kshetri, The Conversation, 14 Sep. 2025
  • In a sign of Kirk’s influence in Republican circles, Vice President JD Vance accompanied Kirk’s family and coffin aboard Air Force Two on the trip back to their home in Arizona.
    Michael Collins, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Vance was seen carrying Kirk’s casket on the tarmac in Salt Lake City, Utah, while it was being loaded onto Air Force Two.
    Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Last week, after the assassination, Vance and his wife, Usha, met with Kirk's family in Salt Lake City, Utah, and flew with them on Air Force Two as Kirk's casket was brought home to Arizona.
    Christopher Cann, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The 2,300-year-old tomb had two rooms — an entrance chamber and a burial chamber — originally connected with a double door, archaeologists said.
    Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 9 Sep. 2025
  • The animal was originally a zhènmùshòu, a monumental, fierce, lion-like tomb guardian from the Tang Dynasty, the authors speculate.
    Amy Woodyatt, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bier. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

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