Cache (rhymes with “cash”) is a hidden storage place where you keep valuable things for later use, or the collection of things stored there. Pirates might bury a cache of gold coins on a remote island. A squirrel creates a cache of acorns in a hollow tree to eat during winter. Explorers often hide caches of supplies along their route so they'll have food and gear waiting when they return.

The word suggests secrecy and preparation. You don't just leave things out in the open: you hide them carefully so others won't find them, or so they'll be safe until you need them. A spy might maintain a cache of documents in a secret location. During wartime, resistance fighters often hid caches of weapons and medicine.

As a verb, to cache something means to hide it away for later. You might cache emergency supplies in a safe place, or cache a spare key where you can find it.

In computing, cache means something similar. Your computer keeps a cache of recently used information stored in quick-access memory, like keeping your most-used books on your desk instead of walking to the library every time. Web browsers maintain a cache of images and pages from websites you visit often, which is why familiar sites load faster than new ones.