Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense piles, present participle piling, past tense, past participle piled
1. countable noun
A pile of things is a mass of them that is high in the middle and has sloping sides.
...a pile of sand. [+ of]
...a little pile of crumbs.
The leaves had been swept into huge piles.
2. countable noun
A pile of things is a quantity of things that have been put neatly somewhere so that each thing is on top of the one below.
...a pile of boxes. [+ of]
We sat in Sam's study, among the piles of books.
The clothes were folded in a neat pile.
3. verb
If you pile things somewhere, you put them there so that they form a pile.
He was piling clothes into the suitcase. [VERB noun adverb/preposition]
A few newspapers and magazines were piled on a table. [beVERB-ed adverb/preposition]
Synonyms: load, stuff, pack, stack More Synonyms of pile
4. verb [usually passive]
If something is piled with things, it is covered or filled with piles of things.
Tables were piled high with local produce. [beVERB-ed + with]
...trucks piled with luggage. [beV-ed with n]
5. quantifier
If you talk about a pile of something or piles of something, you mean a large amount of it.
[informal]
I've got a pile of questions afterwards for you.
...a whole pile of disasters.
6. verb
If a group of people pile into or out of a vehicle, they all get into it or out of it in a disorganized way.
They all piled into Jerrold's car. [V + into/out of]
A fleet of police cars suddenly arrived. Dozens of officers piled out. [Vin/out]
Synonyms: crowd, pack, charge, rush More Synonyms of pile
7. countable noun
You can refer to a large impressive building as a pile, especially when it is the home of a rich important person.
...some stately pile in the country.
Synonyms: mansion, building, residence, manor More Synonyms of pile
8. countable noun [usually plural]
Piles are wooden, concrete, or metal posts which are pushed into the ground and on which buildings or bridges are built. Piles are often used in very wet areas so that the buildings do not flood.
...settlements of wooden houses, set on piles along the shore.
Synonyms: foundation, support, post, column More Synonyms of pile
9. plural noun
Piles are painful swellings that can appear in the veins inside a person's anus.
10. singular noun
The pile of a carpet or of a fabric such as velvet is its soft surface. It consists of a lot of little threads standing on end.
...the carpet's thick pile.
Synonyms: nap, fibre, down, hair More Synonyms of pile
11.
See be at the bottom of the pile, be at the top of the pile
Phrasal verbs:
See pile up
More Synonyms of pile
pile in British English1
(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. (often plural) informal
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 singlebar
9.
the point of an arrow
verb
10. (often foll by up)
to collect or be collected into or as if into a pile
snow piled up in the drive
11. (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
12. pile arms
13. pile it on
Word origin
C15: via Old French from Latin pīla stone pier
pile in British English2
(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
verb(transitive)
3.
to drive (piles) into the ground
4.
to provide or support (a structure) with piles
Word origin
Old English pīl, from Latin pīlum
pile in British English3
(paɪl)
noun
1. textiles
a.
the yarns in a fabric that stand up or out from the weave, as in carpeting, velvet, flannel, etc
b.
one of these yarns
2.
soft fine hair, fur, wool, etc
Word origin
C15: from Anglo-Norman pyle, from Latin pilus hair
pile in American English1
(paɪl)
noun
1.
a mass of things heaped together; heap
2.
a heap of wood or other combustible material on which a corpse or sacrifice is burned
3.
a large building or group of buildings
4. Informal
a.
a large amount or number
b. US
a lot of money; fortune
5. Electricity
a voltaic pile or any other similar device that produces an electric current; battery
6. US, Obsolete
nuclear reactor
verb transitiveWord forms: piled or ˈpiling
7.
to put or set in a pile; heap up
8.
to cover with a pile; load
9.
to accumulate
10.
to crash, wreck, etc.
verb intransitive
11.
to form a pile or heap
12.
to move in a mass; crowd
with in, into, out, on, off, etc.
13.
to crash (into)
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈbuilding
Word origin
ME < MFr < L pila, pillar
pile in American English2
(paɪl)
noun
1.
a soft, velvety, raised surface on a rug, fabric, etc., produced by making yarn loops on the body of the material and, often, shearing them
2.
soft, fine hair, as on wool, fur, etc.
Derived forms
piled
adjective
Word origin
ME pile, bird's down < L pilus, hair < IE base *pilo- > L pila, ball, Gr pilos, felt
pile in American English3
(paɪl)
noun
1.
a long, heavy timber or beam driven into the ground, sometimes under water, to support a bridge, dock, etc.
2.
any similar supporting member, as of concrete
3. Heraldry
a wedge-shaped bearing with the point usually downward
verb transitiveWord forms: piled or ˈpiling
4.
to drive piles into
5.
to support or strengthen with piles
Word origin
ME pil < OE, akin to Ger pfeil < WGmc borrowing < L pilum, javelin
More idioms containing
pile
at the bottom of the pile
Examples of 'pile' in a sentence
pile
These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content.Read more…
Video footage taken inside those parts of the hotel still standing showed snow piled up in the corridors.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
There are some unlikely Cup stars who have finished top of the pile in the past.
The Sun (2017)
The country is in ruins, a pile of rubble.
The Sun (2016)
I have a huge pile to get through.
The Sun (2016)
Those who lost weight then piled it on again were 3½ times more likely to die suddenly from heart abnormalities.
The Sun (2016)
WHEN you are struggling at the bottom of the money pile it can be tough to see a way out.
The Sun (2016)
All that's left is a huge pile of Cotswold stone.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Crack in the eggs and mix well, then transfer to the lined loaf tin, piling it up high.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You will soon pile on the pounds if these are your favourite sweets.
The Sun (2016)
There will be simply a pile of rubble instead of buildings that might have had tenants.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
We ran down into the basement and all piled into one of two cold rooms.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The house was piled high with books.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The floor is covered with thick pile cream rugs and almost the same volume of wires.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
As the carpet pile slowly dries it will spring back to life.
The Sun (2007)
They left behind a huge pile of ripped bin bags overflowing with pizza boxes and cans.
The Sun (2013)
What gilded theatre or country pile can beat that number?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Investors have also piled into gold as a hedge against inflation.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
There were also worries about its debt pile.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
We would all pile into the car and head for the beaches.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The condemned pile soon amounts to more than three quarters of the entire drawer.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
These sometimes contradictory requirements for the perfect rural pile mean that it is a rare commodity.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
This cuts out the added sugar and salt that can pile on pounds.
The Sun (2007)
The aim is to keep adding cards with a face value one higher or lower than those displayed on the foundationpile.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Everyone would pile off the bus, taking a cool box of chilled blood sachets with them.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Two quickfire goals soon after the interval piled on the misery for Hull.
The Sun (2010)
A handful of cars crept along the deserted roads with snow piled up six feet high on either side.
The Sun (2014)
He told it, stringing it out while the three spread their blankets and collected a pile of firewood for the night.
Tepper, Sheri S. A Plague of Angels (1993)
Word lists with
pile
heraldry
In other languages
pile
British English: pile /paɪl/ NOUN
A pile of things is a quantity of them lying on top of one another.
The leaves had been swept into piles.
American English: pile
Arabic: كَوْمَة
Brazilian Portuguese: pilha empilhamento
Chinese: 堆
Croatian: gomila
Czech: hromada
Danish: stak
Dutch: hoop
European Spanish: pila montón
Finnish: pino
French: pile
German: Haufen
Greek: σωρός
Italian: pila
Japanese: 積み重ね
Korean: 퇴적물
Norwegian: stabel
Polish: stos
European Portuguese: pilha empilhamento
Romanian: grămadă
Russian: стопка
Latin American Spanish: pila montón
Swedish: hög ansamling
Thai: กอง
Turkish: yığın
Ukrainian: купа
Vietnamese: đống
British English: pile NOUN
A pile of things is a mass of them that is high in the middle and has sloping sides.
...a pile of sand.
American English: pile
Brazilian Portuguese: pilha
Chinese: 堆
European Spanish: montón
French: tas
German: Haufen
Italian: mucchio
Japanese: 山積み
Korean: 더미
European Portuguese: pilha
Latin American Spanish: montón
British English: pile VERB
If you pile things somewhere, you put them there so that they form a pile.
He was piling clothes into the suitcase.
American English: pile
Brazilian Portuguese: empilhar
Chinese: 堆叠
European Spanish: amontonar
French: empiler
German: aufhäufen
Italian: ammucchiare
Japanese: 山積みにする
Korean: 쌓아 올리다
European Portuguese: empilhar
Latin American Spanish: amontonar
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All related terms of 'pile'
pile up
If you pile up a quantity of things or if they pile up , they gradually form a pile.
pile arms
to prop a number of rifles together, muzzles together and upwards , butts forming the base
pile cap
a reinforced or mass concrete connecting beam cast around the head of a group of piles enabling it to act as a single unit to support the imposed load
pile shoe
an iron casting shaped to a point and fitted to a lower end of a wooden or concrete pile
atomic pile
→ nuclear reactor
fender pile
an upright , usually freestanding , pile driven into the sea bed or a riverbed beside a berth to protect the dock wall or wharf from the impact of vessels
pile-driver
a machine that drives piles into the ground either by repeatedly allowing a heavy weight to fall on the head of the pile or by using a steam hammer
screw pile
a pile with a threaded tip that is screwed into the ground by a winch or capstan
sheet pile
one of a group of piles made of timber , steel , or prestressed concrete set close together to resist lateral pressure , as from earth or water
slush pile
a publisher's collection of unsolicited manuscripts
bearing pile
a foundation pile that supports weight vertically
galvanic pile
an early form of battery consisting of a pile of paired plates of dissimilar metals, such as zinc and copper, each pair being separated from the next by a pad moistened with an electrolyte
pile dwelling
a house raised on long columns of timber over the surface of the soil or a body of water
pile it on
to exaggerate
voltaic pile
an early form of battery consisting of a pile of paired plates of dissimilar metals, such as zinc and copper , each pair being separated from the next by a pad moistened with an electrolyte
Volta's pile
an early form of battery consisting of a pile of paired plates of dissimilar metals, such as zinc and copper, each pair being separated from the next by a pad moistened with an electrolyte
shag pile rug
a piece of thick material with a nap of long rough strands that you put on a floor . It is like a carpet but covers a smaller area
the slush pile
the unsolicited manuscripts sent by hopeful authors to a publisher , considered as a whole
multiple pile-up
an accident in which several cars crash into each other
shag pile carpet
a large piece of thick material with a nap of long rough strands that you put on a floor
chain-reacting pile
→ nuclear reactor
pile on the agony
to exaggerate one's distress for sympathy or greater effect
at the bottom of the pile
low down or high up in society or in an organization
shag rug
a piece of thick material with a nap of long rough strands that you put on a floor . It is like a carpet but covers a smaller area
be at the bottom of the pile, be at the top of the pile
Someone who is at the bottom of the pile is low down in society or low down in an organization . Someone who is at the top of the pile is high up in society or high up in an organization.