This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
pileup
or pile-up
[ pahyl-uhp ]
/ ĖpaÉŖlĖŹp /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
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.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of pileup
First recorded in 1825ā35; noun use of verb phrase pile up
Words nearby pileup
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Ā© Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use pileup in a sentence
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
Ā© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 Ā© HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other 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 āform a heap or mass of something.ā [Mid-1800s]
Be involved in a crash, as in When the police arrived, at least four cars had piled up. [Late 1800s]
The American HeritageĀ® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright Ā© 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.