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You know what it looks like… but what is it called?
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2
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: a recessed panel in a vault, ceiling, or soffit
ceiling coffers
coffered; coffering; coffers
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.
Example Sentences
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
Ovetta Wiggins, Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2022
There was no coffer inside it, and no treasure either.
—Okwiri Oduor, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022
That means the community as a whole doesn't see the money flow into the tax coffer until after the debt is retired.
—Jim Riccioli, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2022
Unlike Disney or WarnerMedia, which have decades’ worth of material, or Netflix—which has been aggressive in its production of original content, to say the least—Amazon Prime Video doesn’t have a massive coffer of exclusives.
—Angela Watercutter, Wired, 18 Mar. 2022
Ainge was a master at keeping the Celtics’ coffer of draft picks jam-packed.
—BostonGlobe.com, 7 June 2021
An anonymous donor kicked in another $50,000, and a growing group of Orange County businesspeople — including Bill Skeffington of Watson’s Soda Fountain and Cafe in Orange — have added to the coffer.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2021
Spending on police claimed about 10% of the general fund coffer during the past few years.
—Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, 13 June 2020
For 2018-2019, the U.S. voluntarily added some $656 million to the WHO’s coffers, nearly twice as much as any other country.
—Elijah Wolfson, Time, 4 June 2020
Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2019
Must-see rooms include the family room, with its coffered ceiling, hardwood floors, and fireplace-- one of five in the house.
—cleveland, 3 Apr. 2020
Among the luxury features: golf course lots, coffered ceilings and a waterfall spa.
—Ebony Day, azcentral, 3 Feb. 2020
The 5,643-square-foot house has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and comes with a front courtyard, coffered ceilings and wide-plank white oak flooring.
—Ebony Day, azcentral, 20 Jan. 2020
The home has about 6,800 square feet of living space, coffered ceilings, four bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
—Neal J. Leitereg, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2019
The ceilings are bolstered by beams of palm and eucalyptus, or geometrically coffered with wood strips in a traditional south Moroccan technique called tataoui or in one room gaily painted in the colorful Berber style.
—Joshua Levine, WSJ, 13 Aug. 2018
Features include Carrara marble floors, a gourmet kitchen, a formal dining room and coffered ceilings.
—Robyn A. Friedman, sun-sentinel.com, 24 Oct. 2019
Past a grey façade of stucco and concrete, the traditional-style home opens to 4,314 square feet of formal living spaces with dark hardwood floors, coffered ceilings and wainscoting.
—Jack Flemming, Daily Pilot, 11 Oct. 2019
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Noun
Moore, who had $1.3 million in his coffer in late August and has been consistently raising money the last two months, has spent $104,000 on ad buys in the past 30 days, according to AdImpact, an ad tracking firm.
—Ovetta Wiggins, Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2022
There was no coffer inside it, and no treasure either.
—Okwiri Oduor, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022
That means the community as a whole doesn't see the money flow into the tax coffer until after the debt is retired.
—Jim Riccioli, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2022
Unlike Disney or WarnerMedia, which have decades’ worth of material, or Netflix—which has been aggressive in its production of original content, to say the least—Amazon Prime Video doesn’t have a massive coffer of exclusives.
—Angela Watercutter, Wired, 18 Mar. 2022
Ainge was a master at keeping the Celtics’ coffer of draft picks jam-packed.
—BostonGlobe.com, 7 June 2021
An anonymous donor kicked in another $50,000, and a growing group of Orange County businesspeople — including Bill Skeffington of Watson’s Soda Fountain and Cafe in Orange — have added to the coffer.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2021
Spending on police claimed about 10% of the general fund coffer during the past few years.
—Megan Cassidy, SFChronicle.com, 13 June 2020
For 2018-2019, the U.S. voluntarily added some $656 million to the WHO’s coffers, nearly twice as much as any other country.
—Elijah Wolfson, Time, 4 June 2020
Verb
Past a grey façade of stucco and concrete, the traditional-style home opens to 4,314 square feet of formal living spaces with dark hardwood floors, coffered ceilings and wainscoting.
—Jack Flemming, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2019
Must-see rooms include the family room, with its coffered ceiling, hardwood floors, and fireplace-- one of five in the house.
—cleveland, 3 Apr. 2020
Among the luxury features: golf course lots, coffered ceilings and a waterfall spa.
—Ebony Day, azcentral, 3 Feb. 2020
The 5,643-square-foot house has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms and comes with a front courtyard, coffered ceilings and wide-plank white oak flooring.
—Ebony Day, azcentral, 20 Jan. 2020
The home has about 6,800 square feet of living space, coffered ceilings, four bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
—Neal J. Leitereg, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2019
The ceilings are bolstered by beams of palm and eucalyptus, or geometrically coffered with wood strips in a traditional south Moroccan technique called tataoui or in one room gaily painted in the colorful Berber style.
—Joshua Levine, WSJ, 13 Aug. 2018
Features include Carrara marble floors, a gourmet kitchen, a formal dining room and coffered ceilings.
—Robyn A. Friedman, sun-sentinel.com, 24 Oct. 2019
Past a grey façade of stucco and concrete, the traditional-style home opens to 4,314 square feet of formal living spaces with dark hardwood floors, coffered ceilings and wainscoting.
—Jack Flemming, Daily Pilot, 11 Oct. 2019
See More
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.
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
Time Traveler
The first known use of coffer was
in the 13th century
Dictionary Entries Near coffer
Cite this Entry
“Coffer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coffer. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.
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
More from Merriam-Webster on coffer
Nglish: Translation of coffer for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of coffer for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about coffer
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