Jump To:

• spence
  spence

  noun

  a pantry.
• Spence
  Spence

  noun

  a male given name, form of Spencer.

spence

¹ American  

[spens] / spɛns /

noun

British Dialect.

1. a pantry.

---

Spence ² American  

[spens] / spɛns /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Spencer.

---

spence ¹ British  

/ spɛns /

noun

1. dialect

   1. a larder or pantry

   2. any monetary allowance

   3. a parlour, esp in a cottage

---

Spence ² British  

/ spɛns /

noun

1. Sir Basil ( Unwin ). 1907–76, Scottish architect, born in India; designed Coventry Cathedral (1951)

---

Etymology

Origin of spence

1350–1400; Middle English spense, spence < Middle French despense pantry < Medieval Latin dīspēnsa, noun use of feminine of dīspēnsus, past participle of dīspendere to weigh out; see dispense

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spence Spence

"The thresher's weary flinging-tree The lee-lang day had tired me: And whan the day had closed his e'e, Far i' the west, Ben i' the spence, right pensivelie, I gaed to rest."

From Queechy, Volume I by Susan Warner

"Is that you blethering away in there, John?" cried a high female voice from the spence.

From Gilian The Dreamer His Fancy, His Love and Adventure by Neil Munro

Edward," said the Sub-Prior, "you will supply the English Knight here in this spence with suitable food and accommodation for the night, treating him with as much kindness as if nothing had happened between you.

From The Monastery by Sir Walter Scott

The thresher's weary flingin-tree, The lee-lang day had tired me; And when the day had clos'd his e'e, Far i' the west, Ben i' the spence, right pensivelie, I gaed to rest.

From Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns

I said, speaking through the door of the spence as she moved about the house, ordering the porridge-making and keeping an eye on the hen's meat as well.

From The Men of the Moss-Hags Being a history of adventure taken from the papers of William Gordon of Earlstoun in Galloway by S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

“Things don’t seem to be calming down on pricing,” Spence said.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

“We are in expansion, you don’t dismiss that, but folks are very worried,” said Susan Spence, chairman of the ISM survey.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

“Higher prices were reported by 53.1% of respondents in October, down 5.5 percentage points from September’s 58.6%,” said Susan Spence, chair of the ISM.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

Fifth Third’s Spence noted that a lot of demand in construction and materials industries is also still coming from government-backed infrastructure investments, related to the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

We walked 9.7 miles to Spence Field Shelter, a modest distance even for us, but we were wet through and chilled, and anyway it was too far to hike to the next one.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---