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piling

American  
[pahy-ling] / ˈpaɪ lɪŋ /

noun

  1. a mass of building piles considered collectively.

  2. a structure composed of piles.

piling British  
/ ˈpaɪlɪŋ /

noun

  1. the act of driving piles

  2. a number of piles

  3. a structure formed of piles

"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 piling

First recorded in 1400–50, piling is from the late Middle English word pylyng; see pile 2, -ing 1

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.

Piling up resentments around the world is one heck of a form of statecraft.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 9, 2026

Piling on the pressure, the towering Jenna Clark seemed destined to nod the visitors ahead.

From BBC • Dec. 1, 2023

Piling on to the complex obstacles of tragedy, the Dead had parted ways with Warner Bros., which released its first nine studio and live albums, and decided to start its own label, Grateful Dead Records.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2023

Piling on was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the popular Sherlock Holmes stories.

From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2022

Piling twenty-two dimes in the Oxford Mart pay phone, I’d inquired about an editor position at the Harper & Row publishing house on 33rd Street in Manhattan.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

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.