Meaning & use
coffin bearer
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A person chosen to help carry a coffin at a funeral.
Grammar: Often plural, since several people carry together: six coffin bearers.
Patterns
- a coffin bearer at something
- coffin bearer for someone
My cousin was a coffin bearer at our grandfather's funeral.
Six coffin bearers lifted the coffin onto their shoulders.
He asked his oldest friends to be coffin bearers.
Word forms
| plural | coffin bearers |
|---|
Common combinations
- act as coffin bearer
- Tom agreed to act as coffin bearer.
- chosen as a coffin bearer
- She was chosen as a coffin bearer for her uncle.
- honorary coffin bearer
- The old teacher was an honorary coffin bearer.
- six coffin bearers
- Six coffin bearers walked slowly up the aisle.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pallbearer
- Pallbearer is the usual American word and is a little more formal than coffin bearer.
- bearer
- Bearer alone is vague, since it can mean anyone carrying anything.
- funeral carrier
- Funeral carrier is a rare phrase, whereas coffin bearer is the established term.
Word family
Commonly confused: coffin bearer or casket?
coffin bearer vs casket
A casket is the American word for a coffin, usually with a rectangular shape, and is not a person.
Practice
At the funeral, my brothers and I were the ___ and carried the coffin to the grave.
Choose one answer.
Coffin bearers carry the coffin. Gravediggers dig the grave and officiants lead the ceremony; 'mourners only' does not name the carrying role.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “coffin bearer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.