stash
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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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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are stashingprogressive
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am 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.
The U.S. government, oil traders and private analysts are divided over how much time Tehran has before it runs out of places to stash its crude.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Anastasia, who has a background in banking and is trained in holistic coaching, also uses the opportunity to promote her Snack Tin Guide, which teaches people how to stash their personal itty-bitty snack tins.
From Salon • May 17, 2026
More concretely, ever-increasing U.S. debt underlines Japan’s role as the largest foreign holder of Treasury bills, its $1.25 trillion stash nearly twice the size of China’s.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
On a Wednesday in February in the Coachella Valley, more than two dozen farmworkers weaved up and down rows of strawberries, their gloved hands flicking quickly to pluck the fruit and stash it in boxes.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026
Matant Jo keeps a stash of money in her dresser, inside a Bible.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
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.
