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coffer definition

cof·fer (kôf′ər, käf′-)

noun

  1. a chest or strongbox for keeping money or valuables
  2. a treasury; funds
  3. a decorative sunken panel as in a vault, dome, etc.
  4. a cofferdam
  5. a lock in a canal

Etymology: ME < OFr cofre, a chest < L cophinus: see coffin

transitive verb

  1. to enclose in a coffer or chest
  2. to furnish with decorative sunken panels

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

coffer Usage Examples

Object

  • ceiling: The interior of the dome is a coffered ceiling with an oculus, open to the sky, at the top.

Converse of object

  • replenish: Little or no expense can ever be necessary for replenishing the coffers of such a bank.

Adjective modifier

  • royal: With royal coffers at his disposal, Robert Vertue could ornament with a lavish hand.

Modifies a noun

  • dam: The 1100 m long wall consists of a sheet piled coffer dam, infilled with mass concrete.

Noun used with modifier

  • government: The net result to the government coffers should be a small decrease.

Possessives

  • chancellor: The effect of the change - based on revised data - is to add an extra £ 10bn to the chancellor's coffers.

Preposition: of

  • company: Today this means that the greatest part of Britain's NHS budget goes straight into the coffers of pharmaceutical companies.
coffer usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

coffer quotes

But al be that he was a philosophre, Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre.

-Chaucer, Geoffrey

coffer quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"coffer." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 3 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/coffer>

APA Style

coffer. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 3rd, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/coffer

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