pantry
Americannoun
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a room or closet in which food, groceries, and other provisions, or silverware, dishes, etc., are kept.
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a room between the kitchen and dining room in which food is arranged for serving, glassware and dishes are stored, etc.
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food pantry. a shelter or other place where food is dispensed to people experiencing food insecurity, either as groceries or as meals.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pantry
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English panetrie, from Anglo-French; Old French paneterie “bread room,” equivalent to panet(er) “to bake bread” (derivative of pan “bread,” from Latin pānis ) + -erie noun suffix; see -ery
Explanation
A pantry is an area in or near a kitchen where food is stored. When you buy a hundred boxes of macaroni and cheese that are on sale, you'll need to make room in the pantry for them. Not every kitchen has a pantry, a dedicated space for storing food and other supplies. In some cases a pantry is a closet or cupboard with shelves, and sometimes a pantry is an entirely separate room adjacent to the kitchen. The Anglo-French source of pantry, panetrie, means "bread room," from the Medieval Latin panataria, "room of a servant in charge of food or bread." The Latin root, panis, means "bread."
Vocabulary lists containing pantry
Frindle
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The Sound and the Fury
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Life As We Knew It
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The charity has piloted the Food Pantry network, where schools receive educational support and £100 a week to help families with food parcels, shopping or cooking sessions.
From BBC • Jan. 6, 2026
The Mayer is one of the few businesses remaining in Hebron, alongside the Pizza Pantry and a newer coffee and lunch spot, Dark Side of the Brew.
From Salon • Dec. 18, 2025
"Last year we raised just short of £500 for charity - we're doing it for the Pet Pantry Cumbernauld this year and we'll hopefully get a good response."
From BBC • Oct. 31, 2025
The Original Pantry opened in 1924 and built its Los Angeles legacy on its 24-hour service, becoming a familiar haunt for night owls.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2025
Six days later Janet stood at the counter of the Penny Pantry.
From "Frindle" by Andrew Clements
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
