storage

American  

[stawr-ij, stohr-] / ˈstɔr ɪdʒ, ˈstoʊr- /

noun

1. the act of storing; state or fact of being stored.

   All my furniture is in storage.

2. capacity or space for storing.

3. a place, as a room or building, for storing.

4. Computers. memory.

5. the price charged for storing goods.

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storage British  

/ ˈstɔːrɪdʒ /

noun

1. the act of storing or the state of being stored

2. space or area reserved for storing

3. a charge made for storing

4. computing

   1. the act or process of storing information in a computer memory or on a magnetic tape, disk, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a storage device

      storage capacity

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storage Idioms  

1. see in cold storage.

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Other Word Forms

• nonstorage noun
• prestorage noun

Etymology

Origin of storage

First recorded in 1605–15; store + -age

Explanation

Storage refers to storing something, like in a basement or attic. People keep all sorts of things in storage — from fur coats to bowling trophies. When you store something, you put it away somewhere safe, so storage is the act of storing. Squirrels gather nuts and put them in storage by hiding them. A grocery store might use a stockroom for storage. If you have canned food in the basement, that's storage. Some storage is for emergencies, while other storage is for things you might want to look at another time, like old photos. Things in storage are being saved for later.

Example Sentences

All the same, storage is likely to fill up quickly if the blockade succeeds, according to David Wech, Vortexa’s chief economist.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Or a condo board forgetting to bill for storage fees.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

It could also be forced to start shutting down oil wells within weeks as it runs out of storage space, a costly and damaging prospect that could impair production for years to come.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The spike in demand for lithium-ion batteries for EVs and the rapid expansion of grid-scale storage has spurred Albemarle to project that lithium demand will grow 15% to 40% this year.

From Barron's • Apr. 16, 2026

In unit 4, however, the fuel from the reactor had already been transferred to the storage pool.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

Related Words

• cache
• depot
• repository
• stockpile
• storehouse