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• 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.

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Spence ² American  

[spens] / spɛns /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Spencer.

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spence ¹ British  

/ spɛns /

noun

1. dialect

   1. a larder or pantry

   2. any monetary allowance

   3. a parlour, esp in a cottage

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Spence ² British  

/ spɛns /

noun

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

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spence Spence

It consisted of three apartments,—the cow-house at one end, the kitchen or house in the middle, and the spence at the other end. 

From Recollections of a Tour Made in Scotland A.D. 1803 by John Campbell Shairp

Our bardie, lanely, keeps the spence Sin' Mailie's dead.

From Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns

Ere yet in scorn of Peter's pence, And numbered bead and shrift, Bluff Harry broke into the spence, And turned the cowls adrift.

From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer

"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

They hastened to the spence, and were relieved of a part of their anxiety by meeting Mary at the door of the apartment.

From The Monastery by Sir Walter Scott

“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

Dale Spence, the director of the Royal College of Midwives in Northern Ireland, said to provide the care that women deserve, more midwives were required and that those who are working are feeling overburdened.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 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

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