heap

[ heep ]

/ hip /

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See synonyms for: heap / heaped / heaping / heaps on Thesaurus.com

noun

a group of things placed, thrown, or lying one on another; pile: a heap of stones.

Informal. a great quantity or number; multitude: a heap of people.

Slang. an automobile, especially a dilapidated one.

verb (used with object)

to gather, put, or cast in a heap; pile (often followed by up, on, together, etc.).

to accumulate or amass (often followed by up or together): to heap up riches.

to give, assign, or bestow in great quantity; load (often followed by on or upon): 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)

to become heaped or piled, as sand or snow; rise in a heap or heaps (often followed by up).

OTHER WORDS FOR heap

1 mass, stack; accumulation, collection.

See synonyms for heap on Thesaurus.com

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Idioms about heap

all of a heap, Informal.

overwhelmed with astonishment; amazed: We were struck all of a heap upon hearing of their divorce.
suddenly; abruptly; All of a heap the room was empty.

Origin of heap

First recorded before 900; 1925–30 for def. 3; Middle English heep, Old English hēap; cognate with Dutch hoop, Old High German houf; akin to German Haufe

OTHER WORDS FROM heap

heaper, nounheapy, adjectiveo·ver·heap, verb (used with object)un·heaped, adjective

Words nearby heap

healthy, healthyish, Healy, Heaney, HEAO, heap, heaping, hear, hear a peep out of, hear a pin drop, can, heard

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use heap in a sentence

User error accounts for the majority of gear failure in the field, so learning how your tent or bedding sets up before you leave home can save you heaps of time and stress when you’re depending on it.
How to Pack for a Family Camping Trip|Joe Jackson|October 1, 2020|Outside Online
It’s notably lacking in the generous heaps of grated fresh ginger I know Sammy adds to his blend, but still, it’s excellent.
Until I Can Go Back to My Favorite Restaurant, This Jerk Paste Is the Next Best Thing|Elazar Sontag|September 25, 2020|Eater
Where this has proved impossible, we’ve outsourced the process using barrels, jars, compost heaps, and industrial fermenters.
The Fungal Evangelist Who Would Save the Bees - Issue 90: Something Green|Merlin Sheldrake|September 23, 2020|Nautilus
These include human bones, ancient buildings, ancient trash heaps and more.
Scientists Say: Archaeology|Bethany Brookshire|August 10, 2020|Science News For Students

Another plus is that busy microbes in a compost heap put out a lot of heat.
Greener than burial? Turning human bodies into worm food|Laura Sanders|April 3, 2020|Science News For Students
The problem runs far deeper, to an absurdly narrow legal definition of ‘corruption’ that throws democracy on the trash heap.
Undo Citizens United? We’d Only Scratch the Surface|Jedediah Purdy|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Since then, Abilify has risen from the fifth-most-prescribed drug to the top of the heap.
Mother’s Little Anti-Psychotic Is Worth $6.9 Billion A Year|Jay Michaelson|November 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And Ebola, in turn, has returned to the top of the local talking-points heap.
Dallas: A Journal of the Plague City|Pete Freedman|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He snatched up the thrown chair and crashed it down onto the head of a charging older black man, who crumpled into a heap.
Inside a Hospital for the Criminally Insane|Caitlin Dickson|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This regrettable action will, of course, ignite a racial gang war, leaving a heap of bodies in its wake.
Inside 'Sons of Anarchy's' Final Season: Creator Kurt Sutter on the Most Brutal Season Yet|Annaliza Savage|September 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But here at Fort Walsh we're among a class of people that are a heap different from Texas cow-punchers.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
At this point Harry entered and stood afar off, eying Punch, a disheveled heap in the corner of the room, with disgust.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
If they'd been white men I would probably have been curled in a neat heap within two hundred yards.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
You'll be a heap more sane when you get that old, wild-west notion, that every man should be a law unto himself, out of your head.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
He gathered the heap and flung it into a corner, then caught up his hat and struck out for the loneliest part of the ranch.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton

British Dictionary definitions for heap

heap

/ (hiːp) /

noun

a collection of articles or mass of material gathered together in one place

(often plural usually foll by of) informal a large number or quantity

give them heaps Australian slang to contend strenuously with an opposing sporting team

give it heaps NZ slang to try very hard

informal a place or thing that is very old, untidy, unreliable, etcthe car was a heap

adverb

heaps (intensifier)he said he was feeling heaps better

verb

(often foll by up or together) to collect or be collected into or as if into a heap or pileto heap up wealth

(tr; often foll by with, on, or upon) to load or supply (with) abundantlyto heap with riches

Derived forms of heap

heaper, noun

Word Origin for heap

Old English héap; related to Old Frisian hāp, Old Saxon hōp, Old High German houf

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

heap

OTHER WORDS FOR heap

Idioms about heap

Origin of heap

OTHER WORDS FROM heap

Words nearby heap

Words related to heap

How to use heap in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for heap

Derived forms of heap

Word Origin for heap