stash
Americanverb (used with object)
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stashes,
present (3rd person singular)
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stashed,
past participle, past
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stashing
present participle
noun
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stashes
plural
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something put away or hidden.
a stash of gold coins buried in the garden.
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a place in which something is stored secretly; hiding place; cache.
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Slang. a supply of hidden drugs.
verb
noun
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informal a secret store or the place where this is hidden
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slang drugs kept for personal consumption
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stashsimple
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stashessimple
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have stashedperfect
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has stashedperfect
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am stashingprogressive
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are stashingprogressive
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is stashingprogressive
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have been stashingperfect progressive
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has been stashingperfect progressive
Past
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stashedsimple
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had stashedperfect
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was stashingprogressive
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were stashingprogressive
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had been stashingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of stash
Explanation
When you stash something, you stow it away to use it later. Your little brother might stash his Halloween candy under his bed, for example. Use the word stash as a verb that means "hoard" or "stockpile," or as a noun — a pirate's secret pile of gold doubloons can be called a stash, and so can the collection of overdue library books you've got piled beside your bed. The verb version of stash was originally a late 1700's criminals' slang word meaning "conceal." It may have come from a combination of stow and cache.
Vocabulary lists containing stash
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Her boss, Prime Minister Andy Burnham, tried to keep a straighter face when asked whether the general public should stash booze in their emergency boxes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Michael keeps a healthy stash of power equipment as well as food - including a Starlink Mini, a small and lightweight satellite device for internet access.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
I set up my cutting board at the bar in front of the television, clean and chop everything, then stash it in labeled deli tubs.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
All of these attendees were following the example set by those at the top: looking out for themselves and trying to swell their own stash.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
I took twenty dollars from my babysitting stash, grabbed my glue stick, and ran back downstairs.
From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
Another giveaway water voles are present are small food stashes and nibbled plants.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Car factories ground to a halt, and defense manufacturers scoured the world for hidden stashes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
And according to recent data, central banks’ gold stashes have topped their holdings of Treasuries, $36.8 trillion versus $31.6 trillion.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
No gold stashes or governmental cryptocurrency reserves would save us.
From Slate ● Apr. 11, 2025
He would frighten the dogs and take their hidden stashes now and then, but he didn’t harm them and we became accustomed to him hanging around.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
So you’d be more or less treading water between your returns and inflation with your money stashed in cash equivalents.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
They stashed the portrait in the servants’ quarters and delayed paying Renoir the 1,500 francs they owed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
Then he eyed the canvas tote bag where I’d stashed a notepad and some audio gear.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
After a tipoff, intelligence services and police found two handguns and ammunition stashed in a hideout in the forest, Dobrindt said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
While he was shaving, he remembered a few months earlier, President Johnson had shown him the hidden safe where he stashed top secret documents.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
At Navy Federal, Long is already seeing members stashing more money in checking accounts in preparation for covering costs.
From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026
When auditors came to search Freymond’s desk, the story took a farcical turn: Freymond had tried to dispose of the incriminating papers by stashing them outside his office window, on the cornice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2025
When he’s stashing the stolen paintings later in a farmhouse’s hayloft and accidentally knocks the ladder out from under him, the moment is amusing and appropriately metaphorical.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025
I recommend stashing these gummies in the freezer for a few hours before eating.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2025
I figured he’d have a little something to say about me stashing all the books I’d swiped from the Lighthouse in his bag.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
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