coffer Hear it!

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.

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