stack
a more or less orderly pile or heap: a precariously balanced stack of books; a neat stack of papers.
a large, usually conical, circular, or rectangular pile of hay, straw, or the like.
Often stacks. a set of shelves for books or other materials ranged compactly one above the other, as in a library.
stacks, the area or part of a library in which the books and other holdings are stored or kept.
a number of chimneys or flues grouped together.
a vertical duct for conveying warm air from a leader to a register on an upper story of a building.
a vertical waste pipe or vent pipe serving a number of floors.
Informal. a great quantity or number.
Radio. an antenna consisting of a number of components connected in a substantially vertical series.
Computers. a linear list arranged so that the last item stored is the first item retrieved.
Military. a conical, free-standing group of three rifles placed on their butts and hooked together with stacking swivels.
Also called air stack, stackup. Aviation. a group of airplanes circling over an airport awaiting their turns to land.
an English measure for coal and wood, equal to 108 cubic feet (3 cu. m).
Geology. a column of rock isolated from a shore by the action of waves.
Games.
a given quantity of chips that can be bought at one time, as in poker or other gambling games.
the quantity of chips held by a player at a given point in a gambling game.
to pile, arrange, or place in a stack: to stack hay; to stack rifles.
to cover or load with something in stacks or piles.
to arrange or select unfairly in order to force a desired result, especially to load (a jury, committee, etc.) with members having a biased viewpoint: The lawyer charged that the jury had been stacked against his client.
to keep (a number of incoming airplanes) flying nearly circular patterns at various altitudes over an airport where crowded runways, a low ceiling, or other temporary conditions prevent immediate landings.
to be arranged in or form a stack: These chairs stack easily.
stack up,
Aviation. to control the flight patterns of airplanes waiting to land at an airport so that each circles at a designated altitude.
Informal. to compare; measure up (often followed by against): How does the movie stack up against the novel?
Informal. to appear plausible or in keeping with the known facts: Your story just doesn't stack up.
Idioms about stack
blow one's stack, Slang. to lose one's temper or become uncontrollably angry, especially to display one's fury, as by shouting: When he came in and saw the mess he blew his stack.
stack the deck,
to arrange cards or a pack of cards so as to cheat: He stacked the deck and won every hand.
to manipulate events, information, etc., especially unethically, in order to achieve an advantage or desired result.
Origin of stack
1Other words from stack
- stacker, noun
- stackless, adjective
- re·stack, verb (used with object)
- un·stack, adjective, verb
Words Nearby stack
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use stack in a sentence
It’s our creaky localized systems, with county election officials combing through an unprecedented stack of mail-in ballots to make sure they were submitted correctly.
During a major site change more than one aspect of a technology stack can change over a short period of time.
Power SEO Friendly Markup With HTML5, CSS3, And Javascript | Detlef Johnson | August 20, 2020 | Search Engine LandHe turned his attention to the stack of copies of PCN on the table and scanned through an issue from June 2019.
So in all, there were 3×3×3, or 33, unique stacks with three rings.
Each rod or cone cell at the back of the eye has a stack of discs inside, The discs contain a pigment molecule.
Explainer: How our eyes make sense of light | Tina Hesman Saey | July 16, 2020 | Science News For Students
She suggested that Gregory stack newspapers on his desk to give the set an intimate, coffeehouse feel.
David Gregory's 'Meet the Press' Eviction Exposed in Washingtonian Takedown | Lloyd Grove | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTChicken satay and shrimp cocktail are also good options, as you can watch the skewers and tails stack up.
12 Thanksgiving Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work | DailyBurn | November 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTPlace the stack of phyllo dough sheets on a cutting board and cover it with a slightly damp towel.
Jimbo and I sat next to each other, Indian style, and leaned against the stack of black Hefty bags and electronics.
It shows the cascading hills and many buildings that seemingly stack atop them.
As she left the wood she saw a big hay-stack, as firm and shapely of outline as a house, not a loose wisp anywhere.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonOf course the more cold air admitted to pass through the fire, the more heat carried to the top of the stack.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2) | Francis TrevithickHere, being suddenly drenched by spray from one of the engines, Sam and Tommy made for the shelter of a chimney-stack.
The Garret and the Garden | R.M. BallantyneThe Steward is visibly frightened and the stack of dishes rattles in his trembling hands.
Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays | VariousIn the afternoon they strolled towards home, determining to stop a little at the stack on their way.
Eric, or Little by Little | Frederic W. Farrar
British Dictionary definitions for stack
/ (stæk) /
an ordered pile or heap
a large orderly pile of hay, straw, etc, for storage in the open air
(often plural) library science compactly spaced bookshelves, used to house collections of books in an area usually prohibited to library users
a number of aircraft circling an airport at different altitudes, awaiting their signal to land
a large amount: a stack of work
military a pile of rifles or muskets in the shape of a cone
British a measure of coal or wood equal to 108 cubic feet
See chimney stack, smokestack
a vertical pipe, such as the funnel of a ship or the soil pipe attached to the side of a building
a high column of rock, esp one isolated from the mainland by the erosive action of the sea
an area in a computer memory for temporary storage
to place in a stack; pile: to stack bricks on a lorry
to load or fill up with piles of something: to stack a lorry with bricks
to control (a number of aircraft waiting to land at an airport) so that each flies at a different altitude
stack the cards to prearrange the order of a pack of cards secretly so that the deal will benefit someone
Origin of stack
1Derived forms of stack
- stackable, adjective
- stacker, noun
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
Scientific definitions for stack
[ stăk ]
An isolated, columnar mass or island of rock along a coastal cliff. Stacks are formed by the erosion of cliffs through wave action and are larger than chimneys.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with stack
In addition to the idioms beginning with stack
- stack the cards
- stack up
also see:
- blow one's top (stack)
- cards are stacked
- needle in a haystack
- swear on a stack of bibles
;.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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