cachet

American  

[ka-shey, kash-ey, 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

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

It now comes with a certain cachet in the music industry, with other younger male musicians following in his footsteps.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

But the cost for the company’s walkthroughs is actually far less prohibitive than their celebrity cachet might suggest.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

The world’s foremost party planning committee, with the cachet to override branded venue names with generic, location-based names — Los Angeles Stadium instead of SoFi Stadium — on Google and Apple maps?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

There was no military history in my family, but for them, as for many immigrant families, American heroes—and the schools they attended—carried a certain cachet.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

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

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

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

President Deschanel ... was compelled to take several analgesia cachets.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 158, June 2, 1920 by Various

Luff recommends the administration over long periods of guaiacol carbonate, in cachets beginning with doses of 5–10 grs. and increased to 15–20 grs. thrice daily.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson

Related Words

• prestige
• stature