Examples of cooper in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
His father, George, owned 25,000 acres of land and operated large plantations in Virginia, relying on enslaved people to work as carpenters, coopers, sawyers, blacksmiths, tanners, shoemakers, spinners, weavers, knitters, distillers, cooks, laundry maids and field laborers.
—Sue Eisenfeld, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2024
Master Distiller Dennis Malcolm, OBE, began his career in whisky making working as a cooper at The Glen Grant distillery in 1961, and was actually born on the distillery grounds in 1946.
—Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 12 Sep. 2023
Whiskey is next with barrels from a local cooper.
—Marc Bona, cleveland, 7 Mar. 2022
In 2016, Julien asked the local cooper, Tonnellerie Artisanale de Champagne, to make some oak barrels from staves that had been left to dry for four years, which is a year longer than for typical high-quality oak barrels (the longer the better some think).
—Per and Britt Karlsson, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2021
Blacksmith, bakery, cooper, print and other shops will add to the project’s colonial ambiance.
—Mark Eddington, The Salt Lake Tribune, 18 July 2022
But this humble shop functions as a small cooperage, the place where master cooper Ramiro Herrera painstakingly builds, toasts and repairs fine oak wine barrels.
—Jess Lander, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 June 2022
Pinkerton, who’d immigrated to America from Scotland in 1842, was a cooper (maker of wooden casks and barrels) and abolitionist known for his populist views.
—Kellie B. Gormly, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Mar. 2022
Verb
The slopes here are renowned for its thousands of cherry blossom trees, explains DiPasquale, but within them there is a small golden ring of cedar trees which are the only wood used to cooper barrels for cedar aging sake.
—Jillian Dara, Forbes, 29 Sep. 2024
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English couper, cowper, from Middle Dutch cūper (from cūpe cask) or Middle Low German kūper, from kūpe cask; Middle Dutch cūpe & Middle Low German kūpe, from Latin cupa; akin to Greek kypellon cup — more at hive
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1720, in the meaning defined at transitive sense
Time Traveler
The first known use of cooper was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near cooper
Cite this Entry
“Cooper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cooper. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
cooper
noun
coo·per
ˈkü-pər,
ˈku̇p-ər
: a worker who makes or repairs wooden casks, tubs, or barrels
Biographical Definition
Cooper
2 of 4biographical name (2)
Coo·per
ˈkü-pər
ˈku̇-
James Fen*i*more
ˈfen-ə-ˌmȯr
1789–1851 American novelist
Cooper
3 of 4biographical name (3)
Leon Neil 1930– American physicist
Cooper
4 of 4biographical name (4)
Peter 1791–1883 American manufacturer and philanthropist
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share