cache

American  

[kash] / kæʃ /

noun

caches plural

1. a hiding place, especially one in the ground, for ammunition, food, treasures, etc..

   She hid her jewelry in a little cache in the cellar.

2. anything so hidden.

   The enemy never found our cache of food.

   Synonyms:

   store, reserve, stockpile, hoard

3. Also called cache storage.  Computers. a temporary storage space or memory that allows fast access to data.

   Web browser cache;

   CPU cache.

4. Alaska and Northern Canada. a small shed elevated on poles above the reach of animals and used for storing food, equipment, etc.

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verb (used with object)

caches, present (3rd person singular) cached, past participle, past caching present participle

1. to put in a cache; conceal; hide.

   Synonyms:

   secrete

cache British  

/ kæʃ /

noun

1. a hidden store of provisions, weapons, treasure, etc

2. the place where such a store is hidden

3. computing a small high-speed memory that improves computer performance

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verb

1. (tr) to store in a cache

cache Scientific  

/ kăsh /

1. An area of computer memory devoted to the high-speed retrieval of frequently used or requested data.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• caches
  plural

Participles

• caching
  present
• cached
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cache
  simple
• caches
  simple
• have cached
  perfect
• has cached
  perfect
• am caching
  progressive
• are caching
  progressive
• is caching
  progressive
• have been caching
  perfect progressive
• has been caching
  perfect progressive

Past

• cached
  simple
• had cached
  perfect
• was caching
  progressive
• were caching
  progressive
• had been caching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cache
  simple
• will have cached
  perfect
• will be caching
  progressive
• will have been caching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cache

First recorded in 1585–95; from French, noun derivative of cacher “to hide,” from unattested Vulgar Latin coācticāre “to stow away,” originally, “to pack together,” frequentative of Latin coāctāre, equivalent to Latin coāct(us) “collected” (past participle of cōgere “to collect, compel”) + -icā- formative verb suffix + -re infinitive ending

Explanation

Cache sounds like what it is, a stash, and sometimes people — usually the criminal type — have a cache of stolen cash. Often the phrase "weapons cache" is used of a bunch of hidden guns or weapons that have been hidden or stored away, which is logical, given that the French verb cacher means "to hide." Sometimes things aren’t really hidden but are stored away out of sight for use later. Computers even cache data and directories to retrieve when needed. So a cache is anything from a stash of cash to a store of information on reserve.

Example Sentences

Where her previous albums largely drew from a cache of material accumulated across years, Korkejian set out to explore her feelings about her family, their experiences together, and the meaning of home.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2026

The richest cache, in Kolkata's National Library, consists of 21 volumes devoted to the reign of Aurangzeb, who ruled the Mughal empire from 1658 to 1707 and was its last great expansionist emperor.

From BBC • Jun. 27, 2026

But as with most cults, it is very secretive, and Swaine ran up against a brick wall — until he found a whistleblower who had a cache of documents.

From Salon • Jun. 25, 2026

Pakistan's information chief said the strikes hit four targets, including a training camp, an ammunition cache and a hideout linked to two TTP commanders.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

When we got there, an examination of the oxygen cache immediately revealed that there were at least six full bottles.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• hideout
• hoard
• nest egg
• repository
• stash
• stockpile
• storehouse
• treasure
• wealth