depository
Americannoun
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a place where something is deposited or stored, as for safekeeping.
the night depository of a bank.
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a depositary; trustee.
adjective
noun
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a store, such as a warehouse, for furniture, valuables, etc; repository
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a variant spelling of depositary
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of depository
1650–60; depository ( def. 1 ) < Medieval Latin dēpositōrium; depository ( def. 2 ) deposit + -ory 1 (noun use of adj. suffix)
Explanation
A depository is a place where things are kept or stored. You might call your city's Natural History Museum a depository of local dinosaur fossils. A library could also be called a book depository, since books are stored there, and the official name of Fort Knox, which once stored much of the gold in the US, is the United States Bullion Depository. The word depository literally means "place where things are deposited," from the Latin root deponere, "lay aside or deposit," combining de-, "away," and ponere, "to put."
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.
Then the orders flow to the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation.
From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., which safeguards more than $100 trillion in financial assets, later this year plans to tokenize some of the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
In late 2025, SEC staff granted no-action relief to the Depository Trust Co. for a pilot version of tokenization services.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 19, 2026
As the motorcade was passing the Texas School Book Depository, gunfire rang out in the plaza.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2025
However, a more exhaustive investigation of the Furniture Depository of the Imperial Court may bring forth related records.
From The Borghesi Astronomical Clock in the Museum of History and Technology Contributions from the Museum of History and Technology, Paper 35, the Smithsonian Institution United States National Museum Bulletin 240 by Bedini, Silvio A.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
