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
"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-
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.
Strikes have led to rubbish piling up, with uncollected waste several feet high in some streets in the first few months, amid complaints of rats, foxes and seagulls tearing open plastic bags.
From BBC
The Cybertruck also has a reputation problem, partially due to quality issues that began piling up within weeks of the vehicle’s launch.
From MarketWatch
Millions of views piled up as cosmetics and skincare brands including Prada Beauty, Paula’s Choice and NYX chimed in with offers to send her their own products.
For Slot, the problems and the unflattering statistics are starting to pile up like rubble around his feet.
From BBC
Security issues, glitches and bugs are piling up.
From New York Times
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.
