A coffin is a box in which a dead body is buried or cremated.
2.
See a nail in the coffin
coffin in British English
(ˈkɒfɪn)
noun
1.
a box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
2.
the part of a horse's foot that contains the coffin bone
verb
3. (transitive)
to place in or as in a coffin
4. engineering another name for flask (sense 6)
Word origin
C14: from Old French cofin, from Latin cophinus basket; see coffer
coffin in American English
(ˈkɔfɪn; ˈkɑfɪn)
noun
1.
the case or box in which a dead body is buried
2.
the horny part of a horse's hoof
verb transitive
3.
to put into or as if into a coffin
Word origin
ME & OFr cofin, basket, coffer < L cophinus < Gr kophinos, a basket
More idioms containing
coffin
another nail in the coffin
Word lists with
coffin
America, box
In other languages
coffin
British English: coffin /ˈkɒfɪn/ NOUN
A coffin is a box in which a dead body is buried or cremated.
American English: coffin
Arabic: تَابُوت
Brazilian Portuguese: caixão
Chinese: 棺材
Croatian: lijes
Czech: rakev
Danish: kiste
Dutch: doodskist
European Spanish: ataúd
Finnish: ruumisarkku
French: cercueil
German: Sarg
Greek: φέρετρο
Italian: bara
Japanese: ひつぎ
Korean: 관
Norwegian: likkiste
Polish: trumna
European Portuguese: caixão
Romanian: sicriu
Russian: гроб
Latin American Spanish: ataúd
Swedish: kista
Thai: หีบศพ
Turkish: tabut
Ukrainian: домовина
Vietnamese: quan tài
All related terms of 'coffin'
coffin bone
the terminal phalangeal bone inside the hoof of the horse and similar animals
coffin nail
a cigarette
coffin corner
any of the corners of a football field formed by a goal line and side line: punts are sometimes directed to a coffin corner so that the ball will go out of bounds near the opponent's goal line
coffin dodger
an old person
a nail in one's coffin
an experience or event that tends to shorten life or hasten the end of something
a nail in the coffin
If you say that one thing is a nail in the coffin of another thing, you mean that it will help bring about its end or failure .
another nail in the coffin
the latest in a series of events which are seriously harming something or someone
nail in the coffin of sth
If you say that one thing is a nail in the coffin of another thing, you mean that it will help bring about its end or failure .