an assemblage of things laid or lying one upon the other: a pile of papers;a pile of bricks.
Informal. a large number, quantity, or amount of anything: a pile of work.
a heap of wood on which a dead body, a living person, or a sacrifice is burned; pyre.
a lofty or large building or group of buildings: the noble pile of Windsor Castle.
Informal. a large accumulation of money: They made a pile on Wall Street.
a bundle of pieces of iron ready to be welded and drawn out into bars; fagot.
reactor (def. 4).
Electricity. voltaic pile.
verb (used with object),piled,pil·ing.
to lay or dispose in a pile (often followed by up): to pile up the fallen autumn leaves.
to accumulate or store (often followed by up): to pile up money; squirrels piling up nuts against the winter.
to cover or load with a pile: He piled the wagon with hay.
verb (used without object),piled,pil·ing.
to accumulate, as money, debts, evidence, etc. (usually followed by up).
Informal. to move as a group in a more or less confused, disorderly cluster: to pile off a train.
to gather, accumulate, or rise in a pile or piles (often followed by up): The snow is piling up on the roofs.
Verb Phrases
pile on,
to add or give in a plentiful or excessive manner: 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.
Sports.to jump onto the pile of bodies after an opponent has been brought to the ground and the play has been ended.
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.
Origin of pile
1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin pīla “pillar, pier, pile of stone”
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.
Heraldry. an ordinary in the form of a wedge or triangle coming from one edge of the escutcheon, from the chief unless otherwise specified.
Archery. the sharp head or striking end of an arrow, usually of metal and of the form of a wedge or conical nub.
verb (used with object),piled,pil·ing.
to furnish, strengthen, or support with piles.
to drive piles into.
Origin of pile
2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English pil(e) “pointed missile, arrow, dart,” Old English pīl “pointed stick, shaft,” from Latin pīlum “throwing spear, javelin”
Definition for pile (3 of 5)
pile3
[ pahyl ]
/ paɪl /
noun
a fabric with a surface of upright yarns, cut or looped, as corduroy, Turkish toweling, velvet, and velveteen.
such a surface.
one of the strands in such a surface.
soft, fine hair or down.
wool, fur, or pelage.
hair (def. 1).
Origin of pile
3
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English piles “hair, plumage,” from Latin pilus “a hair”
Definition for pile (4 of 5)
pile4
[ pahyl ]
/ paɪl /
noun
Usually piles . a hemorrhoid.
piles , the condition of having hemorrhoids.
Origin of pile
4
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. pill1
Definition for pile (5 of 5)
pile5
[ pahyl ]
/ paɪl /
noun
the lower of two dies for coining by hand.
Origin of pile
5
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pil, pile, pyl “reverse of a coin,” from Medieval Latin pīla, special use of Latin pīla pile1
The player whose card has a higher rank wins the turn and places both cards on the bottom of their pile.
The Fifth Battle For Riddler Nation|Zach Wissner-Gross|September 4, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
At tables spread out around a room, citizen scientists of all ages and all backgrounds inspected piles of scat.
Are coyotes moving into your neighborhood?|Kathryn Hulick|September 3, 2020|Science News For Students
They’ll slice apples and cheese with aplomb, but if you use one to try and cut up a pile of cardboard, it’ll be dull by the end of that task.
Three Questions to Ask Yourself Before Buying a Knife|Wes Siler|September 3, 2020|Outside Online
Right now, those piles present a fire risk and are costly to manage.
California and the Forest Service have a plan to prevent future catastrophic fires|Ula Chrobak|August 27, 2020|Popular Science
If there’s a pile of sand, you intuitively know this is a pile of sand.
What Is an Individual? Biology Seeks Clues in Information Theory.|Jordana Cepelewicz|July 16, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Hitchcock leans toward me in a conspiratorial, almost lascivious, way and says, “Let's pile on the menace.”
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Pre-sizing eliminates the opportunity to pile those taters too high.
12 Thanksgiving Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work|DailyBurn|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Inside a box I could see a pile of whips, chains, ball gags, and hoods.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix|Justin Jones|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In early October, Health Republic allowed me to submit a “grievance claim” which I filed, along with a pile of backup documents.
My Insurance Company Killed Me, Despite Obamacare|Malcolm MacDougall|November 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After finishing breakfast, we pile back into the truck and head toward the checkpoint.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley|Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then they stepped from the pile of marble blocks, and passed quietly away.
The Mark of the Beast|Sidney Watson
Then he would light his pipe or his cigar and take from the shelf the uppermost copy of the pile of Daily Republicans there.
From Place to Place|Irvin S. Cobb
Pile on glass or other pretty dish, set in cold place to harden.
The Laurel Health Cookery|Evora Bucknum Perkins
"Two to one in Twenties against the Pile," shouted Mr. Lovely.
The Passionate Elopement|Compton Mackenzie
Instead of this he leaped over to a pile of rocks that chanced to lie close by, forming a species of pyramid.
The Boy Scouts Along the Susquehanna|Herbert Carter
British Dictionary definitions for pile (1 of 3)
pile1
/ (paɪl) /
noun
a collection of objects laid on top of one another or of other material stacked vertically; heap; mound
informala large amount of money (esp in the phrase make a pile)
(often plural)informala large amounta pile of work
a less common word for pyre
a large building or group of buildings
short for voltaic pile
physicsa structure of uranium and a moderator used for producing atomic energy; nuclear reactor
metallurgyan arrangement of wrought-iron bars that are to be heated and worked into a single bar
the point of an arrow
verb
(often foll by up)to collect or be collected into or as if into a pilesnow piled up in the drive
(intr; foll by in, into, off, out, etc)to move in a group, esp in a hurried or disorganized mannerto pile off the bus
pile armsto prop a number of rifles together, muzzles together and upwards, butts forming the base
pile it oninformalto exaggerate
See also pile up
Word Origin for pile
C15: via Old French from Latin pīla stone pier
British Dictionary definitions for pile (2 of 3)
pile2
/ (paɪl) /
noun
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)
heraldryan ordinary shaped like a wedge, usually displayed point-downwards
verb(tr)
to drive (piles) into the ground
to provide or support (a structure) with piles
Word Origin for pile
Old English pīl, from Latin pīlum
British Dictionary definitions for pile (3 of 3)
pile3
/ (paɪl) /
noun
textiles
the yarns in a fabric that stand up or out from the weave, as in carpeting, velvet, flannel, etc
one of these yarns
soft fine hair, fur, wool, etc
Word Origin for pile
C15: from Anglo-Norman pyle, from Latin pilus hair