What does pantry mean?
A pantry is a room, cupboard, or storage space where food and household provisions are kept. In everyday use, the word commonly refers to the kitchen storage place itself: a well-stocked pantry may contain bread, preserves, cereals, flour, snacks, and other staples. It can also refer more broadly to the provisions available, as in “the pantry was empty,” particularly in literary, historical, or formal contexts. The word is common in both British and American English, although in American homes a “pantry” may simply be a small closet, while in British usage it can suggest a separate food-storage room. The term is useful because it describes not only a physical location but also the household’s stock of food, making it especially apt in discussions of cooking, household management, scarcity, and provisioning.
nounA small room or cupboard in a house, typically used for storing food, utensils, and household supplies. By extension, “pantry” can refer to the food or provisions stored in such a place.
- A small room or cupboard used for storing food and household provisions.
- The food or supplies kept in a pantry or similar storage place.
"The pantry was stocked with jars of preserves, tins of beans, and fresh bread."
"She found a can of tomatoes at the back of the pantry."
"The shelter provided a pantry of basic food supplies for residents in need."
The standard plural is “pantries.”
"The pantries were restocked before the storm."
The pantry began as a bread room: its name comes from the same Latin word for “bread” that gave us “companion” and “company.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pantry come from?
The word entered Middle English as “pantry,” borrowed from Anglo-French paneterie, ultimately from Old French paneterie, a word associated with bread. Its ultimate Latin source, panis, means “bread,” and the word originally referred to a room or place for storing bread. The same Latin root appears in words such as “companion” and “company,” whose histories involve sharing bread or provisions.
Related word forms
How pantry is actually used
In modern British and American English, “pantry” most often means a food-storage room or cupboard. Its use for the food or provisions themselves is somewhat literary or formal.