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.
Recruiting almost exclusively among the huge and jacked — it’s easier to appear larger-than-life on camera if you’re real-world large — makes the list of heart conditions start to pile up.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
West Indies dominated India's bowlers to pile up their highest ever total in one-day internationals.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 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
While money numbers rise and arms contracts pile up, European militaries still lack vital capabilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The Circle’s full of people milling around, wailing, or just sitting and letting the snow pile up around them.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
