coffin

[ kaw-fin, kof-in ]
/ ˈkɔ fɪn, ˈkɒf ɪn /

noun

the box or case in which the body of a dead person is placed for burial; casket.
the part of a horse's foot containing the coffin bone.
Printing.
  1. the bed of a platen press.
  2. the wooden frame around the bed of an early wooden press.

verb (used with object)

to put or enclose in or as in a coffin.

Origin of coffin

1300–50; Middle English cofin < Old North French < Latin cophinus < Greek kóphinos a kind of basket

OTHER WORDS FROM coffin

cof·fin·less, adjective un·cof·fin, verb (used with object)

Definition for coffin (2 of 2)

Coffin
[ kaw-fin, kof-in ]
/ ˈkɔ fɪn, ˈkɒf ɪn /

noun

Levi,1798–1877, U.S. abolitionist leader.
Robert P(eter) Tristram,1892–1955, U.S. poet, essayist, and biographer.

Example sentences from the Web for coffin

British Dictionary definitions for coffin

coffin
/ (ˈkɒfɪn) /

noun

a box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
the part of a horse's foot that contains the coffin bone

verb

(tr) to place in or as in a coffin
engineering another name for flask (def. 6)

Word Origin for coffin

C14: from Old French cofin, from Latin cophinus basket; see coffer