cache

1 of 2

noun

ˈkash 

1

a

: a hiding place especially for concealing and preserving provisions or implements

b

: a secure place of storage

discovered a cache of weapons

2

: something hidden or stored in a cache

The cache consisted of documents and private letters.

3

: a computer memory with very short access time used for storage of frequently or recently used instructions or data

called also cache memory

cache

2 of 2

verb

cached; caching

transitive verb

: to place (something) in a cache: such as

a

: to place or store (something) in a hidden or secure place for safety or concealment

cache camp supplies by a lake

coins cached in a teapot

b

computers : to place (instructions or data) in cache memory for temporary storage

caching websites to speed up future retrieval

Did you know?

Cash and Cache

Cache and cash are homophones (words that are pronounced alike but have different meanings, origins, or spelling) whose likeness in sound may lead to perplexity.

Cache primarily refers to a thing that is hidden or stored somewhere, or to the place where it is hidden. It has recently taken on another common meaning, “short-term computer memory where information is stored for easy retrieval.” Cash, on the other hand, is most often used in the sense “ready money.”

If you find yourself confused by these words, remember that you can store cash in a cache, but you can't do the reverse. Be mindful, too, that if you run out of cash you won't be able to buy something, but if you're short on cache, your computer won’t work.

Synonyms

Noun

• deposit
• hoard
• reserve
• store

Verb

• hoard
• lay away
• lay by
• lay in
• lay up
• put by
• salt away
• squirrel (away)
• stash
• stockpile
• store
• stow
• treasure

Examples of cache in a Sentence

Noun

a weapons cache used by terrorists

Police found a cache of stolen cars in the woods.

Her new laptop has one megabyte of cache.

Verb

an eccentric who cached money in odd places, such as under the boards of the floor

cached the fugitives in their cellar until they could make their way to Canada

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As people lost trust in banks, and in the peso, black-market U.S. dollars became the country’s semi-official currency; over time, Argentineans are thought to have stashed away some two hundred and seventy-seven billion dollars, possibly the largest cache outside the United States. —Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024

Head west of Willemstad for one of Curaçao's true treasures: a cache of untouched, undeveloped shores. —Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 1 Dec. 2024

Verb

Another important thing to note is that doing caching properly can get pretty technically hairy when dealing with syncing across multiple machines. —IEEE Spectrum, 17 June 2011

His most recent post included a workout video of caching footballs at a training facility. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from North American French, from French, "hiding place," noun derivative of cacher "to hide, conceal," going back to Old French cachier, quaichier "to put away, lock up, cover, remove from view, conceal" (also Middle French cacher "to press, crush"), going back to Vulgar Latin *coācticāre "to press, constrict," from Latin coāctāre "to compel" (frequentative of cōgere "to drive together, collect, compress, compel") + -icāre, verb formative — more at cogent

Note: The etymological sense "to compress, constrict" is not attested for the Old French verb, though it likely existed and is apparent in the prefixed form escachier "to crush and flatten, break by pressing or falling on." From the sense "compress" presumably developed the senses "lock up, cover, put away," and hence "remove from view, conceal," common from the sixteenth century. The sense "to press, crush" is marginally evident in Middle French in areas in contact with Occitan, though it penetrated widely enough to form the basis for the derivative cachet "seal" (see cachet).

Verb

verbal derivative of cache entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1797, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1805, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cache

1 of 2 noun

ˈkash 

1

: a place for hiding, storing, or preserving treasure or supplies

2

: something hidden or stored in a cache

3

: a computer memory with very short access time

cache

2 of 2 verb

cached; caching

: to hide or store in a cache