casket

/ˈkæskət/

/ˈkɑskɪt/

Other forms: caskets; casketed; casketing

A casket is a coffin, or a box in which the body of a dead person is buried. Some funeral traditions include a chance for mourners to see the deceased in the casket before burial.

Most caskets are made of wood — some plain, and others more ornamental. Many caskets are buried in cemeteries, although others are cremated, or burned to ash, depending on religious and personal preferences. You can also use the word casket to mean "small box," particularly a box for jewelry or other precious items, and this is the word's earliest meaning, from the Old French cassette, a diminutive form of case.

Definitions of casket

1. noun

   box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
   synonyms: coffin

   types:

   bier

   a coffin along with its stand

   sarcophagus

   a stone coffin (usually bearing sculpture or inscriptions)

   type of:

   box

   a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
2. noun

   small and often ornate box for holding jewels or other valuables
   synonyms: jewel casket

   type of:

   box

   a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
3. verb

   enclose in a casket
   type of:

   close in, enclose, inclose, shut in

   surround completely