pile

¹ American  

[pahyl] / paɪl /

noun

1. an assemblage of things laid or lying one upon the other.

   a pile of papers;

   a pile of bricks.

   Synonyms:

   batch, mound, stack, accumulation, mass, heap, collection

2. Informal. a large number, quantity, or amount of anything.

   a pile of work.

3. a heap of wood on which a dead body, a living person, or a sacrifice is burned; pyre.

4. a lofty or large building or group of buildings.

   the noble pile of Windsor Castle.

5. Informal. a large accumulation of money.

   They made a pile on Wall Street.

6. a bundle of pieces of iron ready to be welded and drawn out into bars; fagot.

7. reactor.

8. Electricity. voltaic pile.

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verb (used with object)

piled, piling

1. to lay or dispose in a pile (often followed byup ).

   to pile up the fallen autumn leaves.

2. to accumulate or store (often followed byup ).

   to pile up money; squirrels piling up nuts against the winter.

3. to cover or load with a pile.

   He piled the wagon with hay.

verb (used without object)

piled, piling

1. to accumulate, as money, debts, evidence, etc. (usually followed byup ).

2. Informal. to move as a group in a more or less confused, disorderly cluster.

   to pile off a train.

3. to gather, accumulate, or rise in a pile or piles (often followed byup ).

   The snow is piling up on the roofs.

verb phrase

1. pile on

   1. to add or give in a plentiful or excessive manner: My mother-in-law finds a way to pile on more criticism of my life choices every time we visit.

      This ice cream shop really piles on the toppings.

      My mother-in-law finds a way to pile on more criticism of my life choices every time we visit.

   2. Sports. to jump onto the pile of bodies after an opponent has been brought to the ground and the play has been ended.

   3. to join a hostile group in harshly criticizing or judging a less dominant group or individual, sometimes gloating over that group’s or person's defeat or diminished standing.

pile ² American  

[pahyl] / paɪl /

noun

1. a cylindrical or flat member of wood, steel, concrete, etc., often tapered or pointed at the lower end, hammered vertically into soil to form part of a foundation or retaining wall.

2. Heraldry. an ordinary in the form of a wedge or triangle coming from one edge of the escutcheon, from the chief unless otherwise specified.

3. Archery. the sharp head or striking end of an arrow, usually of metal and of the form of a wedge or conical nub.

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verb (used with object)

piled, piling

1. to furnish, strengthen, or support with piles.

2. to drive piles into.

idioms

1. in pile, (of a number of charges) arranged in the manner of a pile.

pile ³ American  

[pahyl] / paɪl /

noun

1. a fabric with a surface of upright yarns, cut or looped, as corduroy, Turkish toweling, velvet, and velveteen.

2. such a surface.

3. one of the strands in such a surface.

4. soft, fine hair or down.

5. wool, fur, or pelage.

6. hair.

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pile ⁴ American  

[pahyl] / paɪl /

noun

1. Usually piles a hemorrhoid.

2. piles, the condition of having hemorrhoids.

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pile ⁵ American  

[pahyl] / paɪl /

noun

1. the lower of two dies for coining by hand.

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pile ¹ British  

/ paɪl /

noun

1. a collection of objects laid on top of one another or of other material stacked vertically; heap; mound

2. informal a large amount of money (esp in the phrase make a pile )

3. informal (often plural) a large amount

   a pile of work

4. a less common word for pyre

5. a large building or group of buildings

6. short for voltaic pile

7. physics a structure of uranium and a moderator used for producing atomic energy; nuclear reactor

8. metallurgy an arrangement of wrought-iron bars that are to be heated and worked into a single bar

9. the point of an arrow

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verb

1. (often foll by up) to collect or be collected into or as if into a pile

   snow piled up in the drive

2. (intr; foll by in, into, off, out, etc) to move in a group, esp in a hurried or disorganized manner

   to pile off the bus

3. to prop a number of rifles together, muzzles together and upwards, butts forming the base

4. informal to exaggerate

pile ² British  

/ paɪl /

noun

1. a long column of timber, concrete, or steel that is driven into the ground to provide a foundation for a vertical load (a bearing pile) or a group of such columns to resist a horizontal load from earth or water pressure (a sheet pile)

2. heraldry an ordinary shaped like a wedge, usually displayed point-downwards

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verb

1. to drive (piles) into the ground

2. to provide or support (a structure) with piles

pile ³ British  

/ paɪl /

noun

1. textiles

   1. the yarns in a fabric that stand up or out from the weave, as in carpeting, velvet, flannel, etc

   2. one of these yarns

2. soft fine hair, fur, wool, etc

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pile More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing pile

• make a bundle (pile)

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Etymology

Origin of pile¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin pīla “pillar, pier, pile of stone”

Origin of pile²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English pil(e) “pointed missile, arrow, dart,” Old English pīl “pointed stick, shaft,” from Latin pīlum “throwing spear, javelin”

Origin of pile³

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English piles “hair, plumage,” from Latin pilus “a hair”

Origin of pile⁴

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English piles, pyles (plural), from Medieval Latin pili (masculine plural), from Latin pilae (feminine plural), literally, “balls” (from their shape); cf. pill ¹

Origin of pile⁵

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pil, pile, pyl “reverse of a coin,” from Medieval Latin pīla, special use of Latin pīla pile ¹

Explanation

A pile is a heap of stuff that keeps accumulating, like the dirty laundry in the back of your closet, or Uncle Scrooge’s money. Pile can be used as a noun or a verb. If you pile rocks on top of each other, you will eventually have a...pile of rocks. Unlike the word stack, pile implies that your heap of stuff is fairly messy. It can also mean cram. When eight people pile into a car with only five seats, they’re likely to be pretty much squashed.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pile piled piling

Earlier on Wednesday, AFP footage showed the building reduced to an immense pile of shattered concrete, towering over a team of rescuers in high-visibility vests conducting a desperate search.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

In the age of busyness, it’s easy to worry that even a moment wasted could transform into a pile of stress, and money lost.

From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2026

Since then, LIV had canceled two tournaments and allowed bills to pile up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

It asks very little of you beyond something delicious to pile in the middle and the confidence to fold the edges inward without worrying too much about symmetry.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

Without waiting for me to respond, he divides the pile in two and takes half for himself.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

A global backlash against social media has piled pressure on policymakers, with a rising body of evidence showing negative impacts on children's physical and mental health.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

The trash has piled up and the trinkets he has collected for their garden are gone — a bleak reminder of his absence, said Halley Albert, 30, a neighbor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

"It was very crowded because passengers from the morning flights had piled up, while those scheduled for later departures still didn't know what would happen," the 46-year-old told BBC Indonesian.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

AFP journalists saw families arriving in pickup trucks piled with blankets and other belongings, setting up shelters in scrubland exposed to the sun and heat.

From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026

The sleet piled up and hid the trail.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

“With sellers piling into the market and demand falling flat, today’s house hunters can afford to be choosy,” Asad Khan, a senior economist at Redfin, said in a statement.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

South Korean chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung led the way, piling on four percent and 2.5 percent respectively, while Japan's Kioxia, SoftBank and Advantest were also well up, as was Taiwan's TSMC.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

In an interview with the BBC on Monday, Healey did not rule out tax increases in the Budget, with a recent increase in government borrowing costs piling pressure on the public finances.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

New apartments, businesses and cars are appearing while graves are piling up in the local cemetery.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

They camped almost in the road itself and built a great fire, dragging dead limbs out of the snow and piling them on the flames to hiss and steam.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

Related Words

• accumulation
• assortment
• chunk
• hill
• hunk
• jumble
• lump
• mass
• mountain
• ocean
• pyramid
• quantity
• stack
• stockpile