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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spencer Spencer

So saying, she ran upstairs, without any further delay, and putting on her hat and spencer, set off to old Mr. Henderson's.

From Young Folks Treasury, Volume 3 (of 12) Classic Tales and Old-Fashioned Stories by Hamilton Wright Mabie

On the other side, a Polish lady, in a spencer of nacarat-coloured velvet, made her gauze petticoat flutter over her pearl-gray stockings, which rose above her fashionable pink boots bordered with white fur.

From Sentimental Education Vol 1 by Gustave Flaubert

Sandwich and spencer are coupled in an old rime— "Two noble earls, whom, if I quote, Some folks might call me sinner; The one invented half a coat, The other half a dinner."

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Ernest Weekley

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

We little fools used to buy stories of him with peas and beans, and once even we saved up to buy Shprintze a red flannel spencer.

From Stories and Pictures by Isaac Loeb Peretz

Then enter Earl Spencer, the King's former brother-in-law, with his memoir, Swan Song, criticising the King's response to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Ross Stores and On Holding are two plays for Wolfe Research’s Spencer Hanus, who just initiated coverage of the specialty retail sector.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

In June 2021, she picked up a gated estate in Toluca Lake, a high-end neighborhood with celebrity residents that have included Octavia Spencer, Melissa McCarthy, and Kirsten Dunst.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

Ray Spencer told The Times in 2022 that the shoreline would have been under 100 feet of water about 40 years ago.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Le Grand Meaulnes was wrapped inside two Marks & Spencer placky bags stuffed inside my shirt, with my translation.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

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