pile
♦ pile /p'aɪl/ (piles piling piled)
1 [N-COUNT] usu N of n
A pile of things is a mass of them that is high in the middle and has sloping sides.
...a pile of sand...
The leaves had been swept into huge piles.
= heap, mound
2 [N-COUNT] usu N of n
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...
The clothes were folded in a neat pile.
3 [VERB] V n adv/prep, V n adv/prep
If you pile things somewhere, you put them there so that they form a pile.
He was piling clothes into the suitcase...
A few newspapers and magazines were piled on a table.
4 [VERB] usu passive, be V-ed with n
If something is piled with things, it is covered or filled with piles of things.
Tables were piled high with local produce.
5 [QUANT] QUANT of pl-n/n-uncount
If you talk about a pile of something or piles of something, you mean a large amount of it. (INFORMAL)
...a whole pile of disasters.
6 [VERB] V into/out of n, V in/out
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...
A fleet of police cars suddenly arrived. Dozens of officers piled out.
7 [N-COUNT]
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.
8 [N-COUNT] usu pl
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.
9 [N-PLURAL]
Piles are painful swellings that can appear in the veins inside a person's anus.
10 [N-SING]
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.
11 [PHRASE] oft v-link PHR
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. (INFORMAL)pile up
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V P
If you pile up a quantity of things or if they pile up, they gradually form a pile.
Bulldozers piled up huge mounds of dirt...
Mail was still piling up at the office.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P, V P n (not pron)
If you pile up work, problems, or losses or if they pile up, you get more and more of them.
Problems were piling up at work...
He piled up huge debts.
1 [N-COUNT] usu N of n
A pile of things is a mass of them that is high in the middle and has sloping sides.
...a pile of sand...
The leaves had been swept into huge piles.
= heap, mound
2 [N-COUNT] usu N of n
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...
The clothes were folded in a neat pile.
3 [VERB] V n adv/prep, V n adv/prep
If you pile things somewhere, you put them there so that they form a pile.
He was piling clothes into the suitcase...
A few newspapers and magazines were piled on a table.
4 [VERB] usu passive, be V-ed with n
If something is piled with things, it is covered or filled with piles of things.
Tables were piled high with local produce.
5 [QUANT] QUANT of pl-n/n-uncount
If you talk about a pile of something or piles of something, you mean a large amount of it. (INFORMAL)
...a whole pile of disasters.
6 [VERB] V into/out of n, V in/out
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...
A fleet of police cars suddenly arrived. Dozens of officers piled out.
7 [N-COUNT]
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.
8 [N-COUNT] usu pl
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.
9 [N-PLURAL]
Piles are painful swellings that can appear in the veins inside a person's anus.
10 [N-SING]
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.
11 [PHRASE] oft v-link PHR
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. (INFORMAL)pile up
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V P n (not pron), V P
If you pile up a quantity of things or if they pile up, they gradually form a pile.
Bulldozers piled up huge mounds of dirt...
Mail was still piling up at the office.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P, V P n (not pron)
If you pile up work, problems, or losses or if they pile up, you get more and more of them.
Problems were piling up at work...
He piled up huge debts.