Storage is the keeping of things in a place where they can be found and used later. When you put your winter coat in the closet during summer, that closet provides storage. When your family keeps extra canned food in the pantry, that's storage too.

The word describes both the space itself and what you're doing with it. A garage offers storage for bikes and tools. Computer storage holds your photos, documents, and games on a hard drive or in the cloud. Libraries store books, though we usually just call them libraries.

Good storage keeps things organized and protected. Museums use climate-controlled storage to preserve ancient artifacts. Squirrels create storage for acorns in holes and underground caches. Your brain has storage for memories, though scientists still debate exactly how that works.

People often need to decide what deserves storage space and what doesn't. When your room gets too cluttered, you might hear “we need more storage” or “you need to clean out your storage boxes.” Sometimes the real problem isn't the amount of storage but how much stuff you're trying to keep. A storage unit or storage facility is a building where people rent space to store belongings they don't have room for at home.