heap
Americannoun
-
heaps
plural
-
a group of things placed, thrown, or lying one on another; pile.
a heap of stones.
- Synonyms:
- collection, accumulation, stack, mass
-
Informal. a great quantity or number; multitude.
a heap of people.
-
Slang. an automobile, especially a dilapidated one.
verb (used with object)
-
heaps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
heaped,
past participle, past
-
heaping
present participle
-
to gather, put, or cast in a heap; pile (often followed by up, on, together, etc.).
-
to accumulate or amass (often followed by up ortogether ).
to heap up riches.
-
to give, assign, or bestow in great quantity; load (often followed by on orupon ).
to heap blessings upon someone; to heap someone with work.
-
to load, supply, or fill abundantly.
to heap a plate with food.
verb (used without object)
-
heaps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
heaped,
past participle, past
-
heaping
present participle
idioms
noun
-
a collection of articles or mass of material gathered together in one place
-
informal a large number or quantity
-
slang to contend strenuously with an opposing sporting team
-
slang to try very hard
-
informal a place or thing that is very old, untidy, unreliable, etc
the car was a heap
adverb
verb
-
to collect or be collected into or as if into a heap or pile
to heap up wealth
-
(tr; often foll by with, on, or upon) to load or supply (with) abundantly
to heap with riches
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
heapsimple
-
heapssimple
-
have heapedperfect
-
has heapedperfect
-
am heapingprogressive
-
are heapingprogressive
-
is heapingprogressive
-
have been heapingperfect progressive
-
has been heapingperfect progressive
Past
-
heapedsimple
-
had heapedperfect
-
was heapingprogressive
-
were heapingprogressive
-
had been heapingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of heap
First recorded before 900; 1925–30 heap for def. 3; Middle English heep, Old English hēap; cognate with Dutch hoop, Old High German houf; akin to German Haufe
Explanation
A great big pile of something is a heap. Your sloppy brother might keep all of his clothes in a heap on his bedroom floor. A heap can be a literal mound of things — a heap of money in your piggy bank, or a heap of wet towels beside the pool — or it can be a figurative pile. For example, you might worry that if you're caught eating your roommate's pizza you'll be in a heap of trouble. Heap is also a verb, as when you heap compliments on your best friend. Since 1924 heap has also meant "junky old car."
Vocabulary lists containing heap
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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.
See Examples For:
I’d be remiss not to heap praise on the sisters Mara, who bring something to the screen that I haven’t seen in quite some time.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
Discovery shareholders by $7 million a day, so-called ticking fees that will heap more debt onto the highly leveraged transaction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Nobody could have predicted that they would fall in such a heap at 4-0, but they did.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
That promises to heap more pressure on an already strapped public — even if the full economic impact of higher energy prices might take a while to fully trickle down to the U.S. economy.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
There they were, still warm from the oven: dozens of flat, round cakes in a fragrant heap, nestled in a colorful, wildly patterned cloth.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Along with heaps of data on shoppers and an increasingly sophisticated digital advertising network, they have a fleet of smaller contract factories that can make pretty much anything and are eager for the business.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
On the other side of that line stands Kiffin, boldly sticking by his plan while the rest of the college football world heaps scorn on him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Along the roads around Izyum burnt-out shells of petrol stations have become part of the landscape, heaps of mangled, charred metal.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
The run of defeats for India, coupled with two surprise losses to Ireland prior to this series, heaps pressure on Shreyas Iyer, who took over the India T20 captaincy in early June.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
She looked cautiously at the dried animals hanging on the walls, the heaps of withered herbs.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
At Olympic and South Lake, where encampments line the street and a fire once spread into a church parking lot, destroying vehicles, there’s a concrete triangle that was heaped with trash.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
It’s always heaped with trash, like a municipal dump on a busy thoroughfare.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
SpaceX’s traction among consumers and government customers with its satellite offerings has heaped pressure on companies looking to compete, prompting a wave of consolidation across the industry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
On Saturday, Ukraine's foreign minister Andriy Sybiga heaped further criticism on the Russian leader.
From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 2026
Amma heaped rice onto our plates and ladled some hot, spicy rasam over the top.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
Price rises were "showing no signs of slowing, heaping more misery onto motorists," the group said.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
It has already led to some restrictions on commercial shipping, affecting industries from chemicals to steel-making, and heaping extra pressure on Europe's long-stagnant top economy.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
At every turn, Schoenbrun buries the movie alive, heaping layer upon layer of meta subtext onto it.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Graham was, rhetorically, almost pathetically in Trump’s thrall, heaping flattery onto a president who’d once posted Graham’s phone number online for mass harassment.
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
A server took away the remains of the pig and replaced it with a heaping pile of crescent-shaped, fried chebureki.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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.
