cache - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

Cache sounds like what it is, a stash, and sometimes people — usually the criminal type — have a cache of stolen cash.

Often the phrase "weapons cache" is used of a bunch of hidden guns or weapons that have been hidden or stored away, which is logical, given that the French verb cacher means "to hide." Sometimes things aren’t really hidden but are stored away out of sight for use later. Computers even cache data and directories to retrieve when needed. So a cache is anything from a stash of cash to a store of information on reserve.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: cache

1	n v	a hidden storage space (for money or provisions or weapons) save up as for future use
2	n	(computer science) RAM memory that is set aside as a specialized buffer storage that is continually updated; used to optimize data transfers between system elements with different characteristics

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: cache

1

n a hidden storage space (for money or provisions or weapons)

Type of:: storage space
the area in any structure that provides space for storage

n a secret store of valuables or money

Synonyms:: hoard, stash

Type of:: fund, stock, store
a supply of something available for future use

v save up as for future use

Synonyms:: hive up, hoard, lay away, squirrel away, stash

Type of:: lay aside, save, save up
accumulate money for future use

2

n (computer science) RAM memory that is set aside as a specialized buffer storage that is continually updated; used to optimize data transfers between system elements with different characteristics

Synonyms:: memory cache

Types:: disk cache
a cache that stores copies of frequently used disk sectors in random access memory (RAM) so they can be read without accessing the slower disk

Type of:: buffer, buffer storage, buffer store
(computer science) a part of RAM used for temporary storage of data that is waiting to be sent to a device; used to compensate for differences in the rate of flow of data between components of a computer system