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Synonyms

piles

British  
/ paɪlz /

plural noun

  1. a nontechnical name for haemorrhoids

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of piles

C15: from Latin pilae balls (referring to the appearance of external piles)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Piles of casings, stripped of their copper, had been crammed outside a basement window.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 29, 2025

Piles of belongings and rotting food covered the bed and the air was thick with flies.

From Barron's • Nov. 2, 2025

Piles of bin bags have grown high on some city streets, as a pay dispute between workers and the city council drags on.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2025

Piles of dry excrement were scattered on the floor.

From New York Times • Jun. 5, 2024

“Everything. Food, clothes, boxes, cans. Light bulbs, stacks of them. Everything. Piles and piles up to the ceiling.”

From "The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.