noun
coffin
KO-fihn
noun
1
A box in which a dead body is placed for burial.
"The pallbearers carried the coffin into the church."
"She chose a simple wooden coffin for her father."
How to Use Coffin
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe box a body is buried in.
UK vs US
In American English, "casket" is often preferred, especially by the funeral industry; "coffin" is standard throughout the UK.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
lower the coffin
a wooden coffin
carry the coffin
Word Forms
coffined past tense, coffins plural, coffins plural, Coffins plural, coffins singular
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Etymology
From Old French cofin, "basket" or "box," from Latin cophinus, itself from Greek kophinos, "a basket." It originally meant any box or case before narrowing to its current burial sense.