Meaning & use
a coffin
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A long box, usually made of wood, in which a dead person is buried or cremated.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a coffin', 'the coffin', or 'coffins' in the plural.
Patterns
- a wooden coffin
- carry the coffin
- in a coffin
- lower the coffin into the ground
The coffin was carried into the church by six family members.
She was buried in a simple wooden coffin.
They lowered the coffin slowly into the grave.
nouncountabletechnical
A box or case that holds something and is shaped like a coffin, such as a container for a dangerous substance.
Grammar: Countable, and often used in technical writing about storage or transport.
Patterns
- a lead coffin
- a coffin for radioactive material
The waste is sealed inside a lead coffin before transport.
Engineers lowered the coffin of radioactive material into the storage pit.
Word forms
| plural | coffins |
|---|
Common combinations
- a wooden coffin
- They chose a plain wooden coffin for the burial.
- carry the coffin
- Her four brothers carried the coffin into the church.
- lower the coffin
- The mourners watched as they lowered the coffin into the ground.
- the coffin lid
- He gently closed the coffin lid.
- a coffin nail
- In informal English, a cigarette is sometimes called a coffin nail.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- coffin verb
- A rare verb meaning to place someone in a coffin.
Commonly confused: a coffin or coughing?
a coffin vs coughing
These sound similar, but 'coughing' is the -ing form of 'cough', the noise you make when your throat is irritated.
Practice
The six men slowly carried the ______ into the church and set it down at the front.
Choose one answer.
'Coffin' is the standard British word for the box carried at a funeral. 'Casket' is also possible, but it is mainly American; 'coffee' and 'coughing' are unrelated words that only sound a little similar.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a coffin”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.