pileup
Americannoun
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a massive collision of several or many moving vehicles.
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an accumulation, as of work, chores, or bills.
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a rough or disorderly falling of people upon one another, as in a football game.
Etymology
Origin of pileup
First recorded in 1825–35; noun use of verb phrase pile up
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.
Private equity’s pileup of unsold investments—just shy of 33,000 companies globally worth more than $3 trillion—has hamstrung fundraising and strained relations with fund investors waiting to get money back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
And so there has been a pileup of ignominy referred to a busier-than-ever Ethics Committee.
From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2026
In my family, birthdays arrive in a cheerful pileup.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2026
The advantages are obvious: The method could be used for future data storage and for fast data transmission at terahertz rates without the systems being slowed down by the pileup of heat.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2025
Carefully, without disturbing the pileup of plastic baskets, we climbed up and over the nearest register’s conveyer belt.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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.
