plural piles
1
: a long slender column usually of timber, steel, or reinforced concrete driven into the ground to carry a vertical load
… thus Ellet reported that the riverbed was … firm enough to drive piles into for the foundations of piers.—
Henry Petroski
Henry Petroski2
: a wedge-shaped heraldic charge usually placed vertically with the broad end up
3
a
: a target-shooting arrowhead without cutting edges
b
[Latin pilum]
: an ancient Roman foot soldier's heavy javelin
piled; piling
1
: to lay or place in a pile : stack
2
a
: to heap in abundance : load
piled potatoes on his plate
b
: to collect little by little into a mass
—usually used with up
1
: to form a pile or accumulation
—usually used with up
2
: to move or press forward in or as if in a mass : crowd
piled into a car
plural piles
1
a(1)
: a quantity of things or people heaped together
a pile of leaves
… TV cameras captured him in a pile of his celebrating teammates.—Benjamin Hoffman
Benjamin Hoffman
(2)
: a heap of wood for burning a corpse or a sacrifice
b
: any great number or quantity : lot
made a pile of money
2
: a large building or group of buildings
3
: a great amount of money : fortune
She made a pile in the stock market.
4
1
: a coat or surface of usually short close fine furry hairs
2
: a velvety surface produced by an extra set of filling yarns that form raised loops which are cut and sheared
1
: a single hemorrhoid
2
Synonyms
Examples of pile in a Sentence
Verb (2)
piled all the clothes on the chair before putting them away
the kids piled into the car
Noun (2)
a large pile of newspapers that needed to be disposed of
a job that paid piles of money
she made a pile in the stock market just before it headed south
Noun (3)
the lush pile of the carpeting
a dog with such a dense pile that he never minded the cold
Recent Examples on the WebSeth Klamann, The Denver Post, 21 May 2024
With thousands of students piling into the Petersen donning sparkly outfits in April and May, springtime visitors sometimes notice remnants from prom events while trekking through the museum.
—Andrew Zucker, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
Then pile the stress and expectations of being the next big thing who hasn’t quite turned that corner, a 14-time runner-up with two of those in majors, and the heat grows.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 May 2024
On Tuesday, more people piled into the stock — and some other memes, including money-losing movie chain AMC and one-time smartphone maker BlackBerry.
—Peter Green, Quartz, 18 May 2024
And still, the suits, judgments and collection efforts keep piling up.
—Maureen Farrell, New York Times, 12 May 2024
But when multiplied by millions of anglers over millions of hours fished, year after year, the lead is piling up.
—John Myers, Twin Cities, 11 May 2024
But both men are incredibly competitive, and their verbal jousting turned darker and more personal as time went on, with serious accusations piling up on both sides.
—TIME, 7 May 2024
Charlie immediately piles all the blame on Maria, who is feeling positively giddy off her successful move.
—EW.com, 9 May 2024
Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 23 May 2024
This presentation also works well when post spawn bass make their way out into brush piles and standing timber.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 16 May 2024
But my other favorite is a vegan dish: the roasted vegetable sandwich ($13), a filling and well-seasoned pile of produce on flatbread and carrot hummus.
—Chandler Boese, Kansas City Star, 14 May 2024
The Values Exercise takes you through four steps, beginning with sorting 51 cards into two piles — one whose cards fit you well, and those that don’t.
—Bruce Helmer and Peg Webb, Twin Cities, 11 May 2024
That’s helped lift SoftBank’s cash pile to ¥6.2 trillion, up from ¥4.6 trillion at the end of 2021.
—Min Jeong Lee, Fortune Asia, 10 May 2024
Now his bodyguard was holding a pile of newspapers.
—Jess Bidgood, New York Times, 10 May 2024
Inside the encampment, there was food, medical supplies, tents, and a pile of backpacks.
—TIME, 9 May 2024
Elsewhere other creative outlets are shown: a pile of books, pairs of binoculars, a globe, a turntable.
—Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 10 May 2024
Verb
As a light rain fell, the group piled into Mubarak’s car and drove from Pearl Street to Boulder’s Chautauqua Park.
—Seth Klamann, The Denver Post, 21 May 2024
With thousands of students piling into the Petersen donning sparkly outfits in April and May, springtime visitors sometimes notice remnants from prom events while trekking through the museum.
—Andrew Zucker, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
Then pile the stress and expectations of being the next big thing who hasn’t quite turned that corner, a 14-time runner-up with two of those in majors, and the heat grows.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 May 2024
On Tuesday, more people piled into the stock — and some other memes, including money-losing movie chain AMC and one-time smartphone maker BlackBerry.
—Peter Green, Quartz, 18 May 2024
And still, the suits, judgments and collection efforts keep piling up.
—Maureen Farrell, New York Times, 12 May 2024
But when multiplied by millions of anglers over millions of hours fished, year after year, the lead is piling up.
—John Myers, Twin Cities, 11 May 2024
But both men are incredibly competitive, and their verbal jousting turned darker and more personal as time went on, with serious accusations piling up on both sides.
—TIME, 7 May 2024
Charlie immediately piles all the blame on Maria, who is feeling positively giddy off her successful move.
—EW.com, 9 May 2024
Noun
One wooden frame looks as if it was built as a box with an inner, middle and outer layer of soil and wooden piles.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 23 May 2024
This presentation also works well when post spawn bass make their way out into brush piles and standing timber.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 16 May 2024
But my other favorite is a vegan dish: the roasted vegetable sandwich ($13), a filling and well-seasoned pile of produce on flatbread and carrot hummus.
—Chandler Boese, Kansas City Star, 14 May 2024
The Values Exercise takes you through four steps, beginning with sorting 51 cards into two piles — one whose cards fit you well, and those that don’t.
—Bruce Helmer and Peg Webb, Twin Cities, 11 May 2024
That’s helped lift SoftBank’s cash pile to ¥6.2 trillion, up from ¥4.6 trillion at the end of 2021.
—Min Jeong Lee, Fortune Asia, 10 May 2024
Now his bodyguard was holding a pile of newspapers.
—Jess Bidgood, New York Times, 10 May 2024
Inside the encampment, there was food, medical supplies, tents, and a pile of backpacks.
—TIME, 9 May 2024
Elsewhere other creative outlets are shown: a pile of books, pairs of binoculars, a globe, a turntable.
—Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 10 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pile.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near pile
Cite this Entry
“Pile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pile. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pile
1 of 6 noun
: a long slender post usually of timber, steel, or concrete driven into the ground to support a load
pile
2 of 6 verb
piled; piling
: to drive piles into
pile
3 of 6 noun1
a
: a quantity of things heaped together
b
: a heap of wood for burning a corpse or a sacrifice
2
: a great amount
3
pile
5 of 6 noun1
: a coat or surface of usually short close fine furry hairs
2
: raised loops on the surface of a fabric which may be cut or uncut and which produce a velvety or fuzzy texture
piled
adjective
pile
6 of 6 noun2
plural
: hemorrhoid sense 2
Etymology
Noun
Old English pīl "dart, stake," from Latin pilum "spear, javelin"
Noun
Middle English pile "pier of a bridge, heap, stack," from early French pille "pier of a bridge," from Latin pila "pillar"
Noun
Middle English pile "furry surface," from early French peil, pil "hair, coat with thick nap," from Latin pilus "hair" — related to caterpillar see Word History at caterpillar
Noun
Middle English pile "hemorrhoid," perhaps derived from Latin pila "ball"
Medical Definition
pile
noun1
: a single hemorrhoid
2
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