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

• vault
• 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

For Trump, that’s more for the federal coffers, although experts maintain that tariffs are ultimately a tax on U.S. consumers, who one way or the other have to bear the brunt of higher import costs. —Evan Clark, Footwear News, 15 Aug. 2025

Global titans of self-dealing—such as Najib Razik, Malaysia’s former Prime Minister—divert vast sums from national coffers directly into their bank accounts. —David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2025

Verb

Miami-Dade also no longer benefits from hundreds of millions in dollars of federal COVID and stimulus dollars that flowed into county coffers during the pandemic. —Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 7 Aug. 2025

The controversial House Bill 1136 is part of flurry of legislation targeting IPS and its coffers this legislative session. —Hayleigh Colombo, IndyStar, 2 July 2025

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

Rhymes for coffer

• offer
• proffer
• scoffer
• counteroffer

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