coffer

1 of 2

noun

cof·​fer ˈkȯ-fər 

ˈkä-

1

: chest

Among the items at the auction was an 18th-century oak coffer.

especially : strongbox

put the money in the coffer

2

: treasury, funds

—usually used in plural

… public coffers running dry in a bleak economy …

—Vivienne Walt and Roya Wolverson

corporate coffers

3

: a recessed panel in a vault, ceiling, or soffit

ceiling coffers

coffer

2 of 2

verb

coffered; coffering; coffers

transitive verb

1

: to store or hoard up in a coffer

coffered his military memorabilia

2

: to form (something, such as a ceiling) with recessed panels

A ceiling that is coffered will bring an added dimension to a large room.

Synonyms

Noun

• safe
• safe-deposit box
• strongbox

Examples of coffer in a Sentence

Noun

kept the jewels in a locked coffer

let me see what's in the household coffers and I'll get back to you about making a donation

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

With Isaacman in charge at NASA, the agency’s inferior homegrown rocket may be more likely to get killed off, once and for all—which means that more federal dollars may soon be flowing into SpaceX’s coffers. —Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2024

Frequent critics of corporate subsidies haven't stopped money from going from state coffers to companies in the past. —Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press, 27 Nov. 2024

Verb

Lower-income countries, such as Namibia and Barbados, have less money in government coffers either to improve infrastructure ahead of extreme weather events or to repair after them. —Sara Miller Llana, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Nov. 2024

Direct transfers from the central government to local coffers risk misallocation or even outright embezzlement, limiting the practical effectiveness of household income transfers as a stimulus. —Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cofre, coffre, borrowed from Anglo-French, altered (with n to r) from Latin cophinus "large basket, hamper" (sense "chest" attested in early Medieval Latin), borrowed from Greek kóphinos "large basket" — more at coffin entry 1

Verb

Middle English cofren, derivative of cofre coffer entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

coffer

noun

cof·​fer

ˈkȯ-fər,

ˈkäf-ər

1

: a box used especially to store money and valuables

2

: treasury sense 1, funds

—usually used in plural