pile

[ pahyl ]

/ paɪl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pile ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an assemblage of things laid or lying one upon the other: a pile of papers; a pile of bricks.

Informal. a large number, quantity, or amount of anything: a pile of work.

a heap of wood on which a dead body, a living person, or a sacrifice is burned; pyre.

a lofty or large building or group of buildings: the noble pile of Windsor Castle.

Informal. a large accumulation of money: They made a pile on Wall Street.

a bundle of pieces of iron ready to be welded and drawn out into bars; fagot.

reactor(def 4).

Electricity. voltaic pile.

verb (used with object), piled, pil·ing.

to lay or dispose in a pile (often followed by up): to pile up the fallen autumn leaves.

to accumulate or store (often followed by up): to pile up money; squirrels piling up nuts against the winter.

to cover or load with a pile: He piled the wagon with hay.

verb (used without object), piled, pil·ing.

to accumulate, as money, debts, evidence, etc. (usually followed by up).

Informal. to move as a group in a more or less confused, disorderly cluster: to pile off a train.

to gather, accumulate, or rise in a pile or piles (often followed by up): The snow is piling up on the roofs.

Origin of pile

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French < Latin pīla pillar, mole of stone

SYNONYMS FOR pile

1 collection, heap, mass, accumulation, stack, mound, batch.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR pile ON THESAURUS.COM

Words nearby pile

pilau, pilch, pilchard, pilcomayo, pilcrow, pile, pile cap, pile driver, pile into, pile shoe, pile up

British Dictionary definitions for pile up (1 of 4)

pile up

verb (adverb)

to gather or be gathered in a pile; accumulate

informal to crash or cause to crash

noun pile-up

informal a multiple collision of vehicles

British Dictionary definitions for pile up (2 of 4)

pile ¹

/ (paɪl) /

noun

a collection of objects laid on top of one another or of other material stacked vertically; heap; mound

informal a large amount of money (esp in the phrase make a pile)

(often plural) informal a large amount a pile of work

a less common word for pyre

a large building or group of buildings

short for voltaic pile

physics a structure of uranium and a moderator used for producing atomic energy; nuclear reactor

metallurgy an arrangement of wrought-iron bars that are to be heated and worked into a single bar

the point of an arrow

verb

(often foll by up) to collect or be collected into or as if into a pile snow piled up in the drive

(intr; foll by in, into, off, out, etc) to move in a group, esp in a hurried or disorganized manner to pile off the bus

pile arms to prop a number of rifles together, muzzles together and upwards, butts forming the base

pile it on informal to exaggerate

Word Origin for pile

C15: via Old French from Latin pīla stone pier

British Dictionary definitions for pile up (3 of 4)

pile ²

/ (paɪl) /

noun

a long column of timber, concrete, or steel that is driven into the ground to provide a foundation for a vertical load (a bearing pile) or a group of such columns to resist a horizontal load from earth or water pressure (a sheet pile)

heraldry an ordinary shaped like a wedge, usually displayed point-downwards

verb (tr)

to drive (piles) into the ground

to provide or support (a structure) with piles

Word Origin for pile

Old English pīl, from Latin pīlum

British Dictionary definitions for pile up (4 of 4)

pile ³

/ (paɪl) /

noun

textiles

the yarns in a fabric that stand up or out from the weave, as in carpeting, velvet, flannel, etc
one of these yarns

soft fine hair, fur, wool, etc

Word Origin for pile

C15: from Anglo-Norman pyle, from Latin pilus hair

Medical definitions for pile up

pile

[ pīl ]

n.

A hemorrhoid.

Idioms and Phrases with pile up (1 of 2)

pile up

Accumulate, as in The leaves piled up in the yard, or He piled up a huge fortune. In this idiom pile means “form a heap or mass of something.” [Mid-1800s]

Be involved in a crash, as in When the police arrived, at least four cars had piled up. [Late 1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with pile up (2 of 2)

pile

In addition to the idioms beginning with pile

pile into
pile up

also see:

make a bundle (pile)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

pile

noun

verb (used with object), piled, pil·ing.

verb (used without object), piled, pil·ing.

Origin of pile

SYNONYMS FOR pile

Words nearby pile

British Dictionary definitions for pile up (1 of 4)

verb (adverb)

noun pile-up

British Dictionary definitions for pile up (2 of 4)

noun

verb

Word Origin for pile

British Dictionary definitions for pile up (3 of 4)

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for pile

British Dictionary definitions for pile up (4 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for pile

Medical definitions for pile up

n.

Idioms and Phrases with pile up (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with pile up (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

pile

noun

verb (used with object), piled, pil·ing.

verb (used without object), piled, pil·ing.

Origin of pile

SYNONYMS FOR pile

Words nearby pile

Words related to pile up

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for pile up (1 of 4)

verb (adverb)

noun pile-up

British Dictionary definitions for pile up (2 of 4)

noun

verb

Word Origin for pile

British Dictionary definitions for pile up (3 of 4)

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for pile

British Dictionary definitions for pile up (4 of 4)

noun

Word Origin for pile

Medical definitions for pile up

n.

Idioms and Phrases with pile up (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with pile up (2 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for pile up (1 of 4)