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:
“When any investor anywhere wants safety, they stash their money in Treasurys,” he makes bold to write.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 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
The stash has been kept much as it was found.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
When they’d found a stash of dried reindeer meat at the bottom of a travel pack in one of the camps, it had been like some kind of miracle.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
Another giveaway water voles are present are small food stashes and nibbled plants.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
A sugar-obsessed child of the 1960s, fixated on Milky Ways, Pom Poms and Mallo Cups, I’ve mostly given up sweets—even my grandchildrens’ Halloween stashes don’t interest me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 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
Hunter, who also stashes party tricks like leaping out of a swimming pool, grew up in the rolling greens of central Mississippi.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025
Papa reaches into the pocket of his woolen suit jacket, where he stashes sesame sweets and hard candies, and pulls out some for all of us.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Then he eyed the canvas tote bag where I’d stashed a notepad and some audio gear.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
But you don’t need to be fluent in markets jargon or have thousands of dollars stashed away to get started.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 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
The nibbled plants are stashed in small piles amongst the reeds by the water voles to eat later.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Surely if Mom had money stashed away, she would be helping us, right?
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Arriving early and stashing the car was key for Yuen and her companion.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
At Navy Federal, Long is already seeing members stashing more money in checking accounts in preparation for covering costs.
From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026
That approach is increasingly common, with investors stashing money away through inflation, tariff turmoil and economic worries, said Michael Shamrell, vice president of workplace thought leadership at Fidelity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 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
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.
