pile up
Britishverb
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to gather or be gathered in a pile; accumulate
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informal to crash or cause to crash
noun
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Accumulate, as in The leaves piled up in the yard , or He piled up a huge fortune . In this idiom pile means “form a heap or mass of something.” [Mid-1800s]
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Be involved in a crash, as in When the police arrived, at least four cars had piled up . [Late 1800s]
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.
As legal risks pile up, Coplan is in the process of raising $1 billion, in a fundraising round that would value the company at around $21 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Green arrows representing tourist-laden jets pile up on the screens of the Athens air traffic controllers, a puzzle to solve at the height of tourist season.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
They complain that she frequently canceled meetings and allowed hundreds of motions to pile up without getting moved through council.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
The losses have continued to pile up this term: Once again, the 5th Circuit looks poised to have the highest reversal rate of any appeals court.
From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2026
Is that why they pile up like that?
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
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.
