pile
[noun]
Synonyms:
- heap, accumulation, collection, hoard, mass, mound, mountain, stack
- often plural: a lot, great deal, ocean, quantity, stacks
- building, edifice, erection, structure
[verb]
Synonyms:
- collect, accumulate, amass, assemble, gather, heap, hoard, stack
- crowd, crush, flock, flood, jam, pack, rush, stream
————————
[noun]
nap, down, fibre, fur, hair, plush
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(Informal)
[noun]
foundation, beam, column, pillar, post, support, upright

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English Thesaurus: pile, stack, heap, mound, mountain, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. pile¹ S2 /paɪl/ noun
[Sense 1-6, 9: Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: Latin pila; ⇒ pillar]
[Sense 7: Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: pilus 'hair']
[Sense 8: Language: Old English; Origin: pil, from Latin pilum 'javelin']
[Sense 10: Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: pila 'ball']

1. ARRANGEMENT OF THINGS [countable] a group of several things of the same type that are put on top of each other Synonym : stack
pile of
His mother came in carrying a pile of ironing in her arms.
Flora shuffled through a pile of magazines.
put something in/into a pile
She tidied up the books and put them in neat piles.
He balanced the plate on the top of a pile of books.

2. LARGE AMOUNT [countable] a large amount of something arranged in a shape that looks like a small hill
pile of
piles of melting snow
All that remained of the old house was a pile of rubble.
Sophie stooped to throw another branch on the pile.
He began to sweep the pieces of glass into a pile.

3. a pile of something (also piles of something) informal a lot of something:
We’ve had piles of letters from viewers.
another pile of directives from the EU

4. the bottom of the pile British English the weakest or least important position in a society or organization:
I soon discovered I was at the bottom of the pile in the office hierarchy.
She always puts her own needs to the bottom of the pile.

5. the top of the pile British English the best or highest position in a society or organization:
It’s been 20 years since a British tennis player was at the top of the pile.

6. HOUSE [countable] a very large old house:
They’ve just bought an 18th-century pile in Surrey.

7. MATERIAL [uncountable and countable] the soft surface of short threads on a carpet or some types of cloth
thick/deep pile
Her feet sank into the thick pile of the rug.
a deep pile carpet ⇒ nap¹(2)

8. POST [countable] technical a heavy wooden, stone, or metal post, used to support something heavy

9. make a/your pile informal to make a lot of money:
He had made his pile in the wholesale business.

10. piles [plural] painfully swollen blood vessels near a person’s anus

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. pile² verb [transitive]

1. [always + adverb/preposition] to fill a place or container or cover a surface with a large amount of things
pile something into/onto etc something
He piled bread and milk into his basket.
Melissa piled spaghetti onto her plate.
be piled with something
a chair piled with velvet cushions
The room was piled high with boxes (=filled with a lot of boxes).

2. (also pile up) to arrange things in a pile:
Ma stacked the cups and piled the plates.
pile something on/onto something
She brushed her hair and piled it carefully on top of her head.
pile in (also pile into something) phrasal verb
if people pile in, they get into a vehicle very quickly:
Pierre came to pick them up, and they all piled in.
pile something ↔ on phrasal verb informal

1. pile it on/pile on the drama to talk about something in a way that makes it seem much worse than it really is Synonym : exaggerate:
I know I’m piling it on a bit, but there is a serious point to be made.

2. pile on the pressure/agony to show that you are much better than your opponent in a game:
England piled on the pressure from the start.

3. pile on the pounds to gain a lot of body weight:
She slimmed down a couple of years ago but has piled on the pounds again.
pile out phrasal verb
if people pile out, they leave a place or get out of a vehicle quickly and in a disorganized way:
Edward parked by the river and we all piled out.
pile up phrasal verb

1. to increase in quantity or amount, in a way that is difficult to manage:
It wasn’t long before the debts were piling up.
The traffic starts piling up around this time.
The work has a tendency to pile up if I’m not careful.

2. pile something ↔ up to arrange things in a pile:
tiny doughnuts piled up in a dish
⇒ pile-up

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

pile
noun
ADJ. big, great, high, huge, large, massive, vast | thick | little, small, tiny | neat, tidy | untidy
VERB + PILE place sth in/into/on, put sth in/into/on I put the letter in the envelope and placed it on the pile. I've put the books into three separate piles.
dump He dumped a pile of dirty clothes onto the floor.
add sth to Just add that application to the pile.
flick through, leaf through, look through, riffle through, shuffle through, sort through I leafed through the pile of documents until I found the one I wanted.
PREP. amid a/the ~ The money lay amid a pile of unopened letters.
behind a/the ~ He was busy behind a pile of papers on his desk.
beneath/under a/the ~ I pulled my diary from beneath a pile of files.
in a/the ~ The washing is in a pile on the floor.
on a/the ~ She closed the magazine and threw it back on the pile.
~ of a pile of books I've got piles of work to do.
PHRASES be reduced to a pile of sth The house was reduced to a pile of rubble.
the bottom/top of the pile (figurative) The government is doing little to help those on the bottom of the social pile.
sort sth into piles I sorted the clothes into two piles.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

pile
verb
ADV. neatly | up We piled the boxes up neatly.
PREP. against We piled sandbags against the door.
on, onto She piled food onto our plates.
on top of They piled stones on top of the mound.
with a table piled high with magazines
PHRASES piled high

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

pile a group of things of the same type that are put on top of each other:
a huge pile of cardboard boxes
stack a neat pile of things of the same type:
There were stacks of books on the floor.
heap a large messy pile of things:
All his clothes were in a heap on the floor.
mound a pile of something with a round shape:
a small mound of rice on the plate
mountain a very large pile of something with a round shape:
a mountain of dirty laundry waiting to be washed

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲