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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.

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.

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.

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.

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
spencer 2 British  
/ ˈspɛnsə /

noun

  1. a short fitted coat or jacket

  2. a woman's knitted vest

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
spencer 3 British  
/ ˈspɛnsə /

noun

  1. nautical a large loose-footed gaffsail on a square-rigger or barque

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Green Party won its fifth Commons seat in Thursday's vote, with Hannah Spencer becoming its newest MP, while Reform UK came second.

From BBC

Keith Spencer, career expert at job-search automation platform Sonara, told MarketWatch that while AI is speeding up daily tasks, it isn’t fundamentally changing how the work gets done.

From MarketWatch

“AI is largely being layered onto existing work rather than fundamentally redesigning workflows,” Spencer said, noting that many professionals are using it to draft emails or presentations, summarize information, analyze data or automate repetitive administrative chores.

From MarketWatch

But, as Polanski and his newest MP Hannah Spencer celebrate a very impressive victory in Gorton and Denton, and Farage's party chalks up pushing Labour into third place, there are parallels between the leaders and the parties - even if it seems bonkers.

From BBC

The party's candidate, Hannah Spencer, won a majority of more than 4,000 and becomes the fifth Green MP.

From BBC

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.