heap

American  

[heep] / hip /

noun

• heaps
  plural

1. a group of things placed, thrown, or lying one on another; pile.

   a heap of stones.

   Synonyms:

   collection, accumulation, stack, mass

2. Informal. a great quantity or number; multitude.

   a heap of people.

3. Slang. an automobile, especially a dilapidated one.

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verb (used with object)

• heaps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• heaped,
  past participle,  past
• heaping
  present participle

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

2. to accumulate or amass (often followed by up ortogether ).

   to heap up riches.

3. to give, assign, or bestow in great quantity; load (often followed by on orupon ).

   to heap blessings upon someone; to heap someone with work.

4. 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

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

idioms

1. all of a heap,

   1. overwhelmed with astonishment; amazed.

      We were struck all of a heap upon hearing of their divorce.

   2. suddenly; abruptly;

      All of a heap the room was empty.

heap British  

/ hiːp /

noun

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

2. informal a large number or quantity

3. slang to contend strenuously with an opposing sporting team

4. slang to try very hard

5. informal a place or thing that is very old, untidy, unreliable, etc

   the car was a heap

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adverb

1. (intensifier)

   he said he was feeling heaps better

verb

1. to collect or be collected into or as if into a heap or pile

   to heap up wealth

2. (tr; often foll by with, on, or upon) to load or supply (with) abundantly

   to heap with riches

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• heaper
  noun
• overheap
  verb (used with object)
• heapy
  adjective
• unheaped
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• heaps
  plural

Participles

• heaping
  present
• heaped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• heap
  simple
• heaps
  simple
• have heaped
  perfect
• has heaped
  perfect
• am heaping
  progressive
• are heaping
  progressive
• is heaping
  progressive
• have been heaping
  perfect progressive
• has been heaping
  perfect progressive

Past

• heaped
  simple
• had heaped
  perfect
• was heaping
  progressive
• were heaping
  progressive
• had been heaping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will heap
  simple
• will have heaped
  perfect
• will be heaping
  progressive
• will have been heaping
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heap heaps heaped heaping

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

That is only a fraction of the heap of self-deception we’ve been amassing these past five months.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Retail investors love Musk’s companies, and will likely be able to buy a heap of stock at the offering price of $135.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

Spoon-feeding this critical bit of dialogue early in the film allows Barker to heap as much violence, trauma and tropes onto Nikki’s character as possible, under the guise of thematic callbacks.

From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026

He plucked one of his own letters from the towering heap.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

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

Serving up heaps of fatty cabeza and sizzling al pastor, it grew to nearly a dozen locations spanning from Long Beach to L.A. to the Antelope Valley, drawing praise from prominent food critics.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Chile imports more sulfuric acid than any other country and uses it to leach copper from huge heaps of ore.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026

I place one hand on the wall to steady myself and I turn back to the classroom, where kids are pulling heaps of paper out of their desks.

From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin

It was then that Tuchel may well have given the game away when he heaped praise on England's mentality but lambasted their lack of quality.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 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

Jack Grealish played his part before a season-ending foot injury, but the workload heaped on Iliman Ndiaye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall eventually took its toll.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

By this time there was a snowdrift of torn-up paper heaped around her chair.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

The official Telegram account on X posted a photo Wednesday morning of Durov giving the middle finger over a heaping plate of pickles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

The influx is heaping "colossal pressure" on the cities, he warned in separate comments last year.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Little wonder then that Musk has been heaping compliments on ASML, posting on X Saturday that “ASML should be treasured. It is arguably the greatest company in Europe.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026

The respect Rousey has for Carano has also been visible throughout fight week, with the former UFC champion heaping praise on her opponent.

From BBC ● May 16, 2026

We made fried pork chops or heaping plates of spaghetti and meatballs and sat around talking about Welch, laughing so hard at the idea of all that craziness that our eyes watered.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Related Words

• bundle
• clump
• jumble
• lump
• stack
• ton