coffer

noun cof·fer \ ˈkȯ-fər , ˈkä- \

Updated on: 8 Apr 2018

Definition of coffer

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

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Examples of coffer in a Sentence

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 of coffer from the Web

Lawmakers who refused to cut taxes when state coffers were flush risked taxpayer revolts.

— The Economist, "American states face a revenue crisis," 7 Apr. 2018
Although the federal tax breaks pressed by President Donald J. Trump and enacted by Congress would lower federal tax bills for most people in Maryland, state tax bills are expected to go up and swell state coffers.

— erin cox, baltimoresun.com, "Negotiators reach deal in principle to cut Maryland taxes by as much as $100 million next year," 3 Apr. 2018
Alaska is expecting a reduced salmon harvest this year, setting up a trifecta of falling fish revenues for Alaska fishermen, coastal communities and state coffers.

— laine welch, Anchorage Daily News, "Trifecta of falling fish revenue is heading for Alaska fishermen, coastal communities," 2 Apr. 2018
That has allowed Ceferin to enjoy a relatively stable tenure, with competitions like the Champions League continuing to swell the organization’s coffers.

— tariq panja, New York Times, "Concacaf’s Leader Earned $2 Million Last Year, More Than FIFA and UEFA Presidents," 2 Apr. 2018
Something like 8000 income tax payers swelled Uncle Sam’s tax coffers.

— johnny miller, San Francisco Chronicle, "US ports closed to honor MLK," 28 Mar. 2018
Acknowledging that fact, Wheeler has harnessed an inventive strategy to turn city coffers into something of a credit card to pay for long neglected fixes to Portland's streets, bridges and parks.

— gordon r. friedman, OregonLive.com, "Ted Wheeler pushes debt financing for $600 million in city fixes by 2040," 28 Mar. 2018
Anticipating budgets that will be effectively flat for the foreseeable future, NASA officials have stated that any overruns on Webb are likely to be paid for out of WFIRST’s coffers.

— lee billings, Scientific American, "NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Slips to 2020, and Astronomy Suffers," 27 Mar. 2018
Within that total, the agency’s planetary science coffers get an even bigger raise, a 20.7% increase to $2.2 billion, the highest level ever after adjusting for inflation and programmatic changes over the years.

— jeffrey brainard, Science | AAAS, "Planetary science wins big in NASA’s new spending plan," 23 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'coffer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of coffer

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 ¹coffin

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First Known Use: 13th century

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