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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

Black spencer waist laced in front showing the white underwaist.

From The White Christmas and other Merry Christmas Plays by Walter Ben Hare

Old Rep's white hat and brown spencer are guarantees for fifty thousand francs in any city of Europe.

From A Rent In A Cloud by Charles James Lever

The wheels could have been removed from the axle and lifted aboard by use of tackles from the main yard ends, or from a fore spencer gaff if it were made long enough.

From The Pioneer Steamship Savannah: A Study for a Scale Model United States National Museum Bulletin 228, 1961, pages 61-80 by Howard I. (Howard Irving) Chapelle

"By goam! chap," said the countryman, when he regained his speech, "I have made thee a spencer; but I might have run the fork through thee, and it would have been no blame of mine."

From Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume 10 by Various

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

In his response to the Palace disputing his account, Earl Spencer, who shares his first name with the King, said: "They've sort of smudged that one, haven't they? They've said that recollections may vary."

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg at his Althorp estate, Earl Spencer was asked if he believed Diana would "identify" with the scrutiny the Duke and Duchess of Sussex face.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

The Mail says Earl Spencer hit back at the King in a "defiant" interview.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

The legacy of the shocking death of Diana, Princess of Wales, is still the rawest of wounds for the royals, as demonstrated by the no-holds-barred memoir from her brother Earl Spencer.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Across the kitchen table, Sierra’s godfather, Neville Spencer, held up a page of the Bed-Stuy Searchlight.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older