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.
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
A nation can have less fire overall but still impressive blazes: The same decades of aggressive firefighting that drove total burned area down also let fuel pile up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
A normal correction in one industry feels like a market crash, and the damage can pile up quickly when the entire portfolio depends on the same trade.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 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
“Uh-oh,” Emma said, and she stopped suddenly, causing me to run into her and everyone else to pile up behind me.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
