coffin

1 of 2

noun

cof·​fin ˈkȯ-fən 

: a box or chest for burying a corpse compare casket

coffin

2 of 2

verb

coffined; coffining; coffins

transitive verb

: to enclose in or as if in a coffin

Synonyms of coffin

Noun

• casket
• tomb

Examples of coffin in a Sentence

Noun

coffins are said to be the preferred sleeping places of vampires

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Officials say a burial team was attacked in the province of South Kivu while trying to safely bury an Ebola victim, forcing workers to abandon the coffin and allowing community members to handle the body. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 4 June 2026

The mayor of Mongbwalu, a remote gold mining town in Ituri province, told CNN’s Clarissa Ward that a coffin was burned after a body that had been in a local morgue was moved to a different coffin. —Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 3 June 2026

The vampires take Louis to their crypt, lock him in a coffin, and cover him with rocks to starve for the rest of eternity. —Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026

Inside the one that serves as Lestat’s luxe tour bus, someone is sanding down his wooden coffin. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 2 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cofyn, coffyn "basket, hamper" (in translations from Latin), "chest, box," borrowed from Anglo-French cofin, coffin "basket, chest, container," borrowed from Latin cophinus "large basket, hamper," borrowed from Greek kóphinos "large basket," of pre-Greek substratal origin

Verb

derivative of coffin entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1525, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1564, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing coffin

• a nail in the/someone's coffin
• coffin bone
• coffin corner
• coffin nail

Rhymes for coffin

• boffin
• offen
• often
• soften

Kids Definition

coffin

noun

cof·​fin

ˈkȯ-fən

: a box or case to hold a dead body