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 In the past, the pope's body would be displayed on an elevated frame known as a bier. Alec Schemmel, FOXNews.com, 21 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
  • New research on the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak puts another nail in the lab leak theory’s coffin.
    Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 7 May 2025
  • The pontiff was interred at the basilica on Saturday, after his wooden coffin was driven through the streets of Rome on the popemobile, passing the Colosseum and thousands of mourners on its way.
    Rosa Rahimi, CNN Money, 27 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • What struck me wasn’t her quiet courage—but the revelation that only men are permitted in the outer circle surrounding the Pope’s casket.
    Angela S. Mattie, Hartford Courant, 6 May 2025
  • His office was filled with the artifacts that people left behind in their cars: a high school diploma, a Little League uniform, an American flag that had been draped over a casket at a military funeral.
    Eli Saslow, New York Times, 4 May 2025
Noun
  • Pharaoh's tomb discovered by archaeologists in Egypt Dr. Josef Wegner, Penn Museum curator who is based in Philadelphia, recently uncovered a groundbreaking discovery: an unknown pharaoh's tomb, dating back 3,600 years.
    Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 11 May 2025
  • Earlier Sunday, Leo celebrated a private Mass near the tomb of St. Peter.
    Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 11 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bier.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bier. Accessed 24 May. 2025.

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