cache

[kash]

noun

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.

verb (used with object)

cached, caching 

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

   Synonyms: secrete

cache

/ 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

verb

1. (tr) to store in a cache

cache

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of cache¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of cache¹

C19: from French, from cacher to hide

Example Sentences

Shooters opened fire from pickup truck beds and atop ladders, used drones to spy on targets and maintained caches of automatic weapons in storage units.

From Los Angeles Times

In late February police raided several locations in Romania, uncovering a cache of weapons, gold and cash, with which it is alleged Potra's group were planning to stage a violent power grab.

From BBC

The prime minister sacked Lord Mandelson after reviewing a cache of emails between the Labour peer and Epstein.

From BBC

Lord Mandelson was sacked earlier this week after a cache of emails between him and Epstein was published by Bloomberg, revealing the extent of their contacts and relationship.

From BBC

Mandelson was asked to leave his post on Thursday after a now notorious cache of emails was reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday evening.

From BBC

Related Words

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