cache

American  

[kash] / kæʃ /

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.

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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

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have cached
  perfect
• has cached
  perfect 3rd person singular
• is caching
  progressive 3rd person singular
• caching
  participle
• caches
  singular 3rd person
• has been caching
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• am caching
  progressive 1st person singular
• are caching
  progressive
• have been caching
  perfect progressive

Past

• had cached
  perfect
• were caching
  progressive plural
• cached
  participle
• was caching
  progressive singular
• had been caching
  perfect progressive
• cached
  simple

Future

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

A 10-person startup called Cache Energy, working out of a 10,000-square-foot facility in Champaign, Ill., says it has figured out how to make such a cement battery durable, efficient and affordable.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Electrical energy from the grid or a renewable source charges the Cache system.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

This included "multiple moves over the last five years between Newfoundland, Grand Cache and Powell River, British Columbia".

From BBC • Feb. 12, 2026

On Sept. 19, 2023, two pharmacies in the Cache County area received a prescription order from a person claiming to be a physician in Provo.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2024

Two minutes earlier, this trio of trucks had sped down the last big hill before Logan—a crest that in the light afforded a spectacular view of Cache Valley below—and they’d descended into a flat patch.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

Related Words

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