Meaning & use
closed casket
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A coffin with its lid shut during a funeral or service, so that mourners cannot see the body.
Grammar: Often used before a noun: a closed casket service.
Patterns
- a closed casket service
- a closed casket funeral
The family chose a closed casket because of the injuries from the accident.
At the church there was a closed casket covered with flowers.
Her grandmother had asked for a closed casket and a quiet ceremony.
Word forms
| plural | closed caskets |
|---|
Common combinations
- a closed casket funeral
- They held a closed casket funeral for privacy.
- a closed casket service
- The closed casket service lasted an hour.
- choose a closed casket
- Some families choose a closed casket after a sudden death.
- a closed casket ceremony
- The closed casket ceremony was held at the chapel.
Synonyms and how they differ
- closed coffin
- Closed coffin means the same thing and is common in British English, while casket is more American.
- private viewing
- A private viewing is a different arrangement in which only close family sees the body, so it is not a synonym but a related alternative.
- sealed coffin
- Sealed coffin stresses that the lid is fixed shut and may be used in a medical or legal context.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: closed casket or closet?
closed casket vs closet
Closet is a small storage cupboard, and has nothing to do with caskets despite the similar spelling.
Practice
Because the family wanted privacy, the funeral was held with a ____, so the mourners did not see the body.
Choose one answer.
A closed casket keeps the body hidden. An open casket is the opposite, which makes it tempting but wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “closed casket”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.