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.
A Jan. 31 pileup involved 59 cars with 10 people needing hospitalization.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 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
In the middle of the night … I’m still haunted by this mawkish pileup of gospel signifiers.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 24, 2025
At one end of the cove, an enormous pileup of wreckage from years of storms provided a steady supply of firewood: block and tackle, hatch gratings, spars, masts, lockers.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
