coffin 1 of 2

noun

ˈkȯ-fən How to pronounce coffin (audio)
Definition of coffinnext
as in casket
a boxlike container for holding a dead body coffins are said to be the preferred sleeping places of vampires

Synonyms & Similar Words

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coffin

2 of 2

verb

as in to tomb

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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 coffin
Noun
At the ages of 15 and 12, the brothers walked shoulder-to-shoulder behind their mother Princess Diana's coffin in 1997. — Jennifer Hassan, USA Today, 6 July 2026 Mourners chanted non-stop, with no sign of the ayatollah’s coffin more than an hour after the procession’s official start time. — Xiaoqian Lin, CNN Money, 6 July 2026 Footage from Iranian state media also showed three of Khamenei's sons—Mostafa, Meysam, and Masoud—crying as the coffins of their father and other family members were carried out into Tehran's Grand Mosalla on Sunday. — Rebecca Schneid, Time, 5 July 2026 Local and foreign officials walk past Khamenei's coffin after paying their respects. — Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 3 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for coffin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coffin
  1. casket
  2. tomb
  3. bury
  4. entomb
  5. inter
  6. hearse
Noun
  • Photos and video broadcast on state media showed people reaching out to touch the truck carrying Khamenei’s coffin, while others threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the casket, a practice common in the Islamic Republic.
    — Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 10 July 2026
  • The body was placed in a casket draped in the Islamic Republic’s flag and encased in glass.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 July 2026
Definition of casket
Verb
  • The bed resists public-facing things, hence its charge as a womb to tomb motif.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Apr. 2026
  • Highlights include the Pyramid of Djoser or Step Pyramid—the world’s oldest pyramid—and the Mastaba of Ti tomb.
    — Nada El Sawy, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Nov. 2023
Definition of tomb
Verb
  • Each of the women were buried in matching underground chambers, with the princess Ita followed by Khenmet, Itaweret, and an anonymous woman assumed to be their sister Sathathormeryt.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 17 July 2026
  • The largest of the debris aprons covers 50 square miles (130 square kilometers), which would be large enough to bury a small city or a large town.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 16 July 2026
Definition of bury
Verb
  • Spontaneous applause erupted — and even some tears were shed — at the battered parking structure where Gil had been entombed since the two temblors struck within seconds of each other on June 24.
    — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
  • Hall today is entombed at the Signers’ Monument in Augusta alongside Walton.
    — Adam Van Brimmer, AJC.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of entomb
Verb
  • On June 26 of this year, Bloch, a Jew who identified as such only when dealing with anti-Semites, was interred in the Pantheon, the final resting place of so many of France’s great literary and cultural figures.
    — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 9 July 2026
  • If not for the hole, Johnson may have remained in relative obscurity in Spring Grove, a graveyard where the city’s historical elite are interred next to people who never made it into the news.
    — Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 28 June 2026
Definition of inter
Verb
  • Prior to his death, Philip specified his funeral plans and laid out the arrangements, from the music to the custom Land Rover hearse.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 9 Apr. 2026
  • This can also include autos such as ambulances, work trucks, hearses, etc.
    — Block Advisors Contributor, Forbes.com, 15 Jan. 2026
Definition of hearse

Browse Nearby Words

coffers
coffin
coffined
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Coffin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coffin. Accessed 19 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on coffin

Nglish: Translation of coffin for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about coffin

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