cachet

American  

[ka-shay, kash-ay, ka-she] / kæˈʃeɪ, ˈkæʃ eɪ, kaˈʃɛ /

noun

• cachets
  plural

1. an official seal, such as on a letter or document.

2. a distinguishing mark or feature; stamp.

   Relentless innovation is the cachet of success in the business world.

3. a sign or expression of approval, especially from a person who has a great deal of prestige.

4. superior status; prestige.

   In that country, any government job has a certain cachet.

5. Pharmacology. a hollow wafer for enclosing a bad-tasting medicine.

6. Philately. a firm name, slogan, or design stamped or printed on an envelope or folded letter.

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cachet British  

/ ˈkæʃeɪ /

noun

1. an official seal on a document, letter, etc

2. a distinguishing mark; stamp

3. prestige; distinction

4. philately

   1. a mark stamped by hand on mail for commemorative purposes

   2. a small mark made by dealers and experts on the back of postage stamps Compare overprint surcharge

5. a hollow wafer, formerly used for enclosing an unpleasant-tasting medicine

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cachets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cachet

First recorded in 1630–40; from French: literally, “small hiding place,” from cache cache + -et -et

Explanation

Certain high-end brands have a particular cachet, or respectability. People just know they are the finest of their kind. The word cachet comes from the French cachet meaning "seal affixed to a letter or document," and if something has cachet, it's as if it has a seal of approval from society. If you start a design company selling cachets for people to seal their letters with fancy wax, try getting some celebrities to endorse it. Then your cachets will have cachet — and that's fancy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cachet cachets

But he added the company has managed the brand’s popularity well, limiting store openings and resisting discounts to preserve Onitsuka Tiger’s luxury cachet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

Two decades later, the idea that “‘Idiocracy’ was a documentary” has gained cachet in the more self-satisfied corners of the internet.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

At 36, she is still young and will return revived - and with the cachet of having not just won Olympic gold - but dealt with the stresses and strains of that journey.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Gucci is key to Kering's fortunes, but has been in freefall since 2023 as the brand lost its luxury cachet.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

So the implication is clear: the parents of all those Alexandras, Laurens, Katherines, Madisons, and Rachels should not expect the cachet to last much longer.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Here are "cachets," "minims," "possets," "epithems;" here advice against "the popular indulgence of biting off blood blisters" and a course of action "on becoming indifferent to the fate of your ship."

From Time Magazine Archive

Automatically, as a result of habit, she unlocked her jewel-case and took out a tiny phial containing minute cachets.

From Dope by Sax Rohmer

It is also true that I have always detested despotism, lettres de cachets, and arbitrary imprisonment.

From Lives of Celebrated Women by Samuel G. (Samuel Griswold) Goodrich

Of course, Cochrane reminded himself with conscious justice, of course there was the very great value of moon-mail cachets to devotees of philately.

From Operation: Outer Space by Murray Leinster

That arrangement for cachets on stamps and covers to be taken along and postmarked Outer Space.

From Operation: Outer Space by Murray Leinster

Related Words

• prestige
• stature