repository

/rəˈpɑzɪtɔri/

/rəˈpɒzɪtri/

Other forms: repositories

Think of a repository as a storehouse, a place where things are kept until needed. A silo is a repository for animal feed, and a trivia buff's mind is a repository for useless information.

The noun repository has a somewhat formal ring to it — why not just call a storehouse a storehouse, right? Think of a repository as somewhat more important and imposing than just a place to dump stuff. It has more of an air of authority, like the things stored there could change the world. Consider nuclear waste — would you rather store it in a dump or a repository? I don’t know about you, but I'd prefer the latter—sounds safer.

Definitions of repository

1. noun

   a facility where things can be deposited for storage or safekeeping
   synonyms: deposit, depositary, depository

   types:

   archive

   a depository containing historical records and documents

   bank, bank building

   a building in which the business of banking transacted

   drop

   a central depository where things can be left or picked up

   depository library, library

   a depository built to contain books and other materials for reading and study

   lost-and-found

   repository in a public building where lost articles can be kept until their owners reclaim them

   museum

   a depository for collecting and displaying objects having scientific or historical or artistic value

   repertory

   a storehouse where a stock of things is kept

   sperm bank

   a depository for storing sperm

   depot, entrepot, storage, store, storehouse

   a depository for goods

   treasury

   a depository (a room or building) where wealth and precious objects can be kept safely

   athenaeum, atheneum

   a place where reading materials are available

   chancery

   an office of archives for public or ecclesiastic records; a court of public records

   dump

   a place where supplies can be stored

   garner, granary

   a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed

   circulating library, lending library

   library that provides books for use outside the building

   magazine, powder magazine, powder store

   a storehouse (as a compartment on a warship) where weapons and ammunition are stored

   maildrop

   a drop where mail can be deposited

   railhead

   a railroad depot in a theater of operations where military supplies are unloaded for distribution

   science museum

   a museum that collects and displays objects having scientific interest

   treasure house

   a storehouse for treasures

   storage warehouse, warehouse

   a storehouse for goods and merchandise

   type of:

   facility, installation

   a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry
2. noun

   a burial vault (usually for some famous person)
   synonyms: monument

   type of:

   burial chamber, sepulcher, sepulchre, sepulture

   a chamber that is used as a grave
3. noun

   a person to whom a secret is entrusted
   synonyms: secretary

   type of:

   confidant, intimate

   someone to whom private matters are confided