squirrel away

verb

To stash or hide; to hoard, collect, save, or accumulate; to create a reserve, stash, or hoard of some supply.

“He had bits of string, cans of nails and lots of other useful tidbits squirreled away throughout his garage.”

Similar
accumulatehoardstashcachelay awayhive up
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Meanings

verbsquirrel away (third-person singular simple present squirrels away, present participle (US) squirreling away or (UK) squirrelling away, simple past and past participle (US) squirreled away or (UK) squirrelled away)

present singular third person squirrels away · US participle present squirreling away · UK participle present squirrelling away · US participle past squirreled away · US past squirreled away · UK participle past squirrelled away · UK past squirrelled away

  1. informaltransitiveTo stash or hide; to hoard, collect, save, or accumulate; to create a reserve, stash, or hoard of some supply.

    He had bits of string, cans of nails and lots of other useful tidbits squirreled away throughout his garage.

    Synonyms: accumulate

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo stash or hide; to hoard, collect, save, or accumulate; to create a reserve, stash, or hoard of some supply.

Similar
accumulate

More synonyms by meaning

verbsave up as for future use

Similar
hoardstashcachelay awayhive up
Broader
savelay asidesave up
Also see
amasscacheengrosshive uphoardlay awayniggardpackratput asidestash

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Suggesting the way that squirrels hide nuts in a cache.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish hamstrata
  • hamstrataTo stash or hide
Polish chomikować
  • chomikowaćTo stash or hide
Spanish zampuzar, escamotear
  • zampuzarTo stash or hide
  • escamotearTo stash or hide
Cite this entry
APA

squirrel away. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/squirrel%20away

MLA

“squirrel away.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/squirrel%20away. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “squirrel away,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/squirrel%20away.

Source: squirrel away on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.