cache

noun

\ ˈkash

Definition of cache

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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

verb

cached; caching

Definition of cache (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Synonyms Cash and Cache More Example Sentences Learn More about cache

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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.

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 fugitive slaves in their cellar until they could make their way to Canada

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

UConn is expected to add cache to the basketball league. — Pat Eaton-robb, Houston Chronicle, "UConn rejoins Big East for basketball, other sports; not football," 26 June 2019 Versatile diets Later in the season, Voyageurs’ wolves exploit an even stranger cache of calories. — Ben Goldfarb, National Geographic, "The secret lives of fish-eating, beaver-ambushing wolves of Minnesota," 21 June 2019 The word is out about the Celtics’ cache of draft picks; only the outstanding Memphis pick (top six protected next year and unprotected in 2022) matters. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, "All of a sudden, the Celtics are hitting the reset button," 17 June 2019 During dry spells, huge caches of HMS would have accumulated on the surface. — Jill Kiedaisch, Popular Mechanics, "Life on Earth May Have Been Born From a Maelstrom of Molten Iron," 15 Jan. 2019 Alaska Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh said agency representatives were investigating at the site to determine whether the bear attack was predatory or a defensive action, such as guarding bear cubs or a food cache like a dead moose. — Washington Post, "Bear suspected in missing Alaska hiker’s death," 21 June 2018 Workers found another cache later that fall with more treasures, including gold armlets inscribed with the name of Ramses II. — Irene Cordón, National Geographic, "How Egypt’s ancient city of divine cats was rediscovered," 7 May 2019 The sixth member of our group, wearing a turquoise windbreaker and yellow wind pants with red knee patches, is working at a fuel cache some ways to the west. — Barry Lopez, Harper's magazine, "Polar Light," 10 Jan. 2019 In a few years, when events have passed and life has happened, who knows what significance that cache of candid footage living on our smartphones will take on? — Elena Nicolaou, refinery29.com, "Inside Danielle & Kevin Jonas' Love Story," 5 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of AL.com. — al, "World Cup: Watch Alex Morgan troll England, ‘sips tea’ after scoring to give U.S. lead," 3 July 2019 The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Ohio. — Mike Rose, cleveland.com, "The Plain Dealer’s front page for July 3, 2019," 3 July 2019 The expedition to place the device was thwarted by heavy snowfall so the team cached the equipment––including some 10 pounds of plutonium to power a generator––and planned to return the next spring to finish the task. — Anna Callaghan, Outside Online, "Climbers Presumed Dead on Flanks of Nanda Devi East," 6 June 2019 The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Ohio. — Mike Rose, cleveland.com, "The Plain Dealer’s front page for June 19, 2019," 19 June 2019 Stem cells, famous for replenishing the body’s stockpile of other cell types throughout life, may have an additional, unforeseen ability to cache memories of past wounds and inflammation. — Quanta Magazine, "Stem Cells Remember Tissues’ Past Injuries," 12 Nov. 2018 Optane Memory caching SSDs, the company has finally decided to embrace the processors that could appreciate the technology’s benefits the most. — Brad Chacos, PCWorld, "Intel's Optane Memory finally supports Celeron and Pentium budget PCs that need the most boost," 1 Apr. 2019 From a technical perspective, the easiest way to set up an AMP system is to cede just a little control of your pages to Google by allowing Google’s caching servers to send your content to users. — Dieter Bohn, The Verge, "Google is giving up some control of the AMP format," 18 Sep. 2018 Project Shield's proxy is built on Google Cloud Platform and also offers caching through Google. — Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, "Jigsaw's Going to Protect Campaigns From Online Attacks," 16 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cache.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.