pileup
or pile-up
[ pahyl-uhp ]
/ ˈpaɪlˌʌp /
noun
a massive collision of several or many moving vehicles.
an accumulation, as of work, chores, or bills.
a rough or disorderly falling of people upon one another, as in a football game.
QUIZZES
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Question 1 of 10
seclusion
Origin of pileup
First recorded in 1825–35; noun use of verb phrase pile up
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for pileup
Saunders, who had been limping for some time, was taken out after a pile-up and Tyler took his place.
Left Tackle Thayer|Ralph Henry BarbourThere was no man up the tracks with a red flag to guard against a pile-up.
Winner Take All|Larry Evans
British Dictionary definitions for pileup
pile up
verb (adverb)
to gather or be gathered in a pile; accumulate
informal to crash or cause to crash
noun pile-up
informal a multiple collision of vehicles
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
Idioms and Phrases with pileup
pile up
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]
Be involved in a crash, as in When the police arrived, at least four cars had piled up. [Late 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.