pantry

Everyday

1. A small room or large cupboard in a home where food like tins, jars, flour and cereal is kept. tree →
2. A food pantry (also food bank) is a place where people who need help can get free food. tree →
3. (Australia, New Zealand, UK, informal) Any kitchen cupboard used for food, also called a larder. tree →

In the lessons

In stories the pantry is where children sneak biscuits or find a mouse; in maths problems it holds jars, cans and boxes to count, share or sort on shelves. In everyday life it is where dry food is stored and checked for best-before labels; in safety lessons, cleaning products should not be kept next to food in the pantry. Phrases: «stock the pantry», «pantry shelf», «raid the pantry», «food pantry».

Examples

• Mum keeps the flour and rice in the pantry. tree →
• There are 24 cans on the pantry shelves, 6 on each shelf. tree →
• Who raided the pantry and ate all the cookies? tree →
• Our school collects tins for the local food pantry. tree →
• The pantry door creaked open in the dark. tree →
• Grandad stocked the pantry before the snowstorm. tree →
• Put the cereal back in the pantry when you're done. tree →
• The old house had a cool pantry behind the kitchen. tree →
• ‘Now go back to the pantry, and bring the best of everything you find there.’ tree →

Note

Countable: one pantry, two pantries (y changes to ies). Not the same as «panty/panties» (underwear) — say it carefully. A larder is an older word for the same thing; a fridge keeps food cold, a pantry does not. In maths problems the pantry is just the place the things are; count what is on its shelves.