Cache or cachet?
cache is a noun meaning “Such a store of physical supplies, placed by humans or other animals for…”; cachet is a noun meaning “A special characteristic or quality; prestige, especially via association”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) cache is about 17 times as common as cachet.
What is the difference between cache and cachet?
| cache | cachet | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | Such a store of physical supplies, placed by humans or other animals for practical reasons A fast temporary storage where recently or frequently used information is stored to avoid having to reload it from a slower storage medium To place in a cache | A special characteristic or quality; prestige, especially via association A commemorative stamped design or inscription on an envelope, other than a cancellation or pre-printed postage To mark (an envelope) with a commemorative stamped design or inscription |
| Example | Near-synonym: stash | I remember when this diner was a quiet hangout, but lately it seems to be losing its cachet |
| Forms | caches | cachets |
| Pronunciation | /kæʃ/ /keɪʃ/ | /kæˈʃeɪ/ /ˈkæʃ.eɪ/ |
| In writing | 4.3 times per million words | about once in every 4 million words |
Sources: cache and cachet in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of cache and cachet
cache
- 1
Such a store of physical supplies, placed by humans or other animals for practical reasons
Near-synonym: stash
- 2
To place in a cache
- 3
A fast temporary storage where recently or frequently used information is stored to avoid having to reload it from a slower storage medium
- 4
To store data in a cache
- 5
A container containing treasure in a global treasure-hunt game
- 6
To participate in geocaching
- 7
To hide or seek a geocache
- 8
to store up, stockpile
cachet
- 1
A special characteristic or quality; prestige, especially via association
I remember when this diner was a quiet hangout, but lately it seems to be losing its cachet
- 2
To mark (an envelope) with a commemorative stamped design or inscription
- 3
A commemorative stamped design or inscription on an envelope, other than a cancellation or pre-printed postage
- 4
A sealed envelope containing an item whose price is being negotiated
- 5
A capsule containing a pharmaceutical preparation
- 6
A hidden location from which one can observe birds while remaining unseen
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, cache or cachet?
cache appears 4.3 times per million words; cachet about once in every 4 million words.
cache 4.3 times per million wordscachet about once in every 4 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search cache vs cachet?
“cache vs cachet” is searched about 260 times a month on Google and 20 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“cachet vs cache”, “cache or cachet”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.