coffer

1 of 2

noun

cof·​fer ˈkȯ-fər How to pronounce coffer (audio)
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.

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
Topline Former President Donald Trump is gearing up to merge his campaign with the Republican National Committee, which could be on the hook for his mounting legal bills, as the cost of his various criminal and civil court cases threatens to drain his own political coffers. Sara Dorn, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 Their military-industrial complex appears to be humming in producing war materiel, and the Kremlin’s coffers have never been fuller. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 19 Feb. 2024 The program is supposed to bring in new jobs and business but instead has ended up draining civic coffers and starving schools. Christine Wen, The Conversation, 15 Feb. 2024 In an era where streaming platforms are scrambling to fill their content coffers, reworking existing I.P. has become a reliable shortcut to bankability. Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2024 Adding kids’ hearing aids to the essential benefits package would trigger a provision of the ACA that requires state coffers to offset the additional expense. Kff Health News, Orange County Register, 31 Jan. 2024 The Haley campaign has already announced a $4 million ad campaign in South Carolina and has fund-raising trips to New York, Florida, California and Texas in the next two weeks to refill her coffers. Shane Goldmacher, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2024 The program’s funding, $30 million from the state's coffers, would involve transferring money from the Hawaii Election Campaign Fund to the Campaign Spending Commission. Jeremy Yurow, USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2024 Local municipalities across the country are bearing the brunt of the financial burden, with a significant portion of funds spent from local public coffers. Jamie Torres, The Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2024
Verb
American firms, especially from the fast-moving consumer goods sector (FMCGs), remain some the most profitable in the Russian market, contributing the most to the Kremlin’s war coffers. Bennett Freeman, Fortune, 4 Mar. 2024 In the party’s absence, the state legislature’s GOP committees have been fundraising for conservative candidates while Trump and other presidential candidates attempt to backfill party coffers. USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2024 The California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the union which represents prison guards, has worked members of both parties to extract from public coffers obscene and utterly unjustified amounts of money. The Editorial Board, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024 Federal prosecutors say Santos wired some of the money to his personal bank account and used the rest to pad his campaign coffers. Kevin Freking, Fortune, 16 Nov. 2023 With coffers fat, lawmakers sought to provide some relief to their constituents, typically through tax rebates or rate reductions. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 24 Jan. 2024 The air rights, appraised at $249 million, are expected to substantially increase the value of the condo units, in turn boosting city coffers over the term of the lease. Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2024 But the new lease will add around $24 million a year to city coffers through 2122 once the property is built out, according to a financial analysis by Colliers International. Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2024 Federal prosecutors say Santos, who has pleaded not guilty, wired some of the money to his personal bank account and used the rest to pad his campaign coffers. Kevin Freking, Fortune, 1 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coffer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of coffer was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near coffer

Cite this Entry

“Coffer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coffer. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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

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