sachet
Americannoun
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a small bag, case, or pad containing perfuming powder or the like, placed among handkerchiefs, lingerie, etc., to impart a pleasant scent.
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Also sachet powder. the powder contained in such a case.
noun
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a small sealed envelope, usually made of plastic or paper, for containing sugar, salt, shampoo, etc
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a small soft bag containing perfumed powder, placed in drawers to scent clothing
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the powder contained in such a bag
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sachet
1475–85; < Middle French, equivalent to sach- (combining form of sac sack 1 ) + -et -et
Explanation
A sachet is a small cloth bag containing something that smells good. You might use a sachet to keep the tube socks and undies in your drawer smelling nice. In Britain, people tend to use the word sachet for any small bag or packet, like a sachet of sugar or a sachet of cat food. In North America, a sachet is a more specific kind of small bag, one that's filled with something scented, like lavender or balsam. In either case, sachet is pronounced like the French word it comes from — the second syllable sounds like shay.
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:
Subjects took a sachet of granules once a day for three days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2025
There’s a sachet of herbs with lavender, rose petals and Himalayan salt hanging in my shower to bring peace and abundance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2023
From an East London warehouse, they designed an edible sachet of water, made of seaweed and other plant extracts: To drink the water, you simply pop the sachet in your mouth.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 19, 2023
Whole cinnamon sticks are easy enough to fish out of finished dishes, and smaller items can go in a sachet of cheesecloth for easy removal.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2022
When Miss Dickinson says, “Hope is the thing with feathers,” I always think of something round—a ball from one of the games I will never play—stuck all around like a clove-orange sachet with red feathers.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Six months on there are "no more, but no less" people out at night, said one young woman hawking sachets of hangover remedy.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
The little flavor sachets often marketed with all the sophistication of a church cookbook fundraiser.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
The Japanese accomplish subtle scenting with nioi-bukuro, breathable sachets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
The men had lured the insects with animal attractants and planned on using wax sachets to chemically preserve them, investigations show.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2024
The room's wonders had unfolded to us for hours: perfume atomizers and color crème-cakes and rouge-sticks and powders and kohl pencils and golden vinaigrettes and pastilles and potpourri and oils and sachets.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
