spite fence

noun

A fence constructed or substantially modified to irritate neighbors or any other party with a stake in the surrounding land.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounspite fence (plural spite fences)

plural spite fences

  1. A fence constructed or substantially modified to irritate neighbors or any other party with a stake in the surrounding land.

    Constance Jackson had better watch her ways—she was in grave danger for quarreling with her neighbors; she had erected the only spite fence in the history of the Quarters.

    1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC
Cite this entry
APA

spite fence. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spite%20fence

MLA

“spite fence.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spite%20fence. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spite fence,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spite%20fence.

Source: spite fence on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.