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• spencer
  spencer

  noun

  a short, close-fitting jacket, frequently trimmed with fur, worn in the 19th century by women and children.
• Spencer
  Spencer

  noun

  a .52 caliber, lever-action repeating rifle and carbine patented in the U.S. in 1860 and used by the Union army and navy in the Civil War.

spencer

¹ American  

[spen-ser] / ˈspɛn sər /

noun

1. a short, close-fitting jacket, frequently trimmed with fur, worn in the 19th century by women and children.

2. a man's close-fitting jacket, having a collar and lapels and reaching just below the waist, worn in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

3. an English wig of the 18th century.

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spencer ² American  

[spen-ser] / ˈspɛn sər /

noun

Nautical.

1. a large gaff sail used abaft a square-rigged foremast or abaft the mainmast of a ship or bark.

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Spencer ³ American  

[spen-ser] / ˈspɛn sər /

noun

Military.

1. a .52 caliber, lever-action repeating rifle and carbine patented in the U.S. in 1860 and used by the Union army and navy in the Civil War.

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Spencer ⁴ American  

[spen-ser] / ˈspɛn sər /

noun

1. Charles, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, 1674–1722, British statesman: prime minister 1718–21.

2. Herbert, 1820–1903, English philosopher.

3. Platt Rogers 1800–64, U.S. calligrapher and teacher of penmanship.

4. a town in NW Iowa.

5. a town in central Massachusetts.

6. a male given name.

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Spencer ¹ British  

/ ˈspɛnsə /

noun

1. Herbert. 1820–1903, English philosopher, who applied evolutionary theory to the study of society, favouring laissez-faire doctrines

2. Sir Stanley. 1891–1959, English painter, noted esp for his paintings of Christ in a contemporary English setting

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spencer ² British  

/ ˈspɛnsə /

noun

1. a short fitted coat or jacket

2. a woman's knitted vest

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spencer ³ British  

/ ˈspɛnsə /

noun

1. nautical a large loose-footed gaffsail on a square-rigger or barque

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Etymology

Origin of spencer¹

1740–50; spencer ¹ in defs. 1, 2 named after G. J. Spencer (1758–1834), English earl; spencer ¹ in def. 3 named after Charles Spencer

Origin of spencer²

First recorded in 1830–40; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spencer Spencer

Nay, he wouldn't have cared if it had been made into a spencer.

From Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour by Robert Smith Surtees

Even the cautious little man in the brown spencer, who wrapped up the remnant of his breakfast in the Times, now opened his whole store, and seemed bent upon a day of rejoicing.

From Jack Hinton The Guardsman by Charles James Lever

He was dressed in a bottle-green spencer and trousers of a military cut, and wore one of those caps which in the days I am writing of were the fashion amongst masters and mates.

From The Honour of the Flag by W. Clark (William Clark) Russell

Over this robe, confined round her waist by a scarf of purple cloth, similar to the turban, she wore a sort of spencer of orange silk, without sleeves.

From The Silver Cross or The Carpenter of Nazareth by Eugène Sue

This, with the spencer and canvas already set, gave us a good hold of the ship in spite of the sea, and we were ready to wear if necessary.

From Mr. Trunnell, Mate of the Ship "Pirate" by T. Jenkins (Thornton Jenkins) Hains

Angelina Jolie, a producer on ‘The Outsiders,’ and Octavia Spencer, a longtime City Year advocate, teamed up to support youth access to theater tickets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

On Sept. 11, Von Arx and researchers including Spencer Kitts, a contractor at Redwood Research, revealed that the traces Piecha had found on the internet the previous week stemmed from a May cyber incident.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Fury's manager Spencer Brown has since said Fury is now enrolled with Vada, appearing to resolve another issue before the launch.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

In the advert Spencer Matthews talks about an athlete who "only eats Huel"

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

“We’ve been talking about this with our counselor. He and Spencer are excited about it, and it seems to be going well. I was nervous at first, but now I want to be supportive.”

From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks