pileup

noun

pile·​up ˈpī(-ə)l-ˌəp 

1

: a collision involving usually several motor vehicles

2

a

: a jammed tangled mass or pile (as of motor vehicles or people) resulting from collision or accumulation

b

: accumulation

Synonyms of pileup

• accumulation
• collection
• pile
• jumble
• mixture
• gathering
• assemblage
• cumulation

Examples of pileup in a Sentence

A five-car pileup slowed traffic.

a pileup of e-mail messages that needed to be dealt with

Recent Examples on the Web

Rideshare vehicles, commercial trucks, and multi-car pileups bring in extra insurance layers and additional parties that complicate everything. — Kaitlyn Gomez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 June 2026

As recent South Florida pileups have shown, disputes over who started a wreck can become the entire legal fight when a 51% fault-finding means the difference between compensation and walking away empty-handed. — Matthew Kayser, Miami Herald, 25 June 2026

The idea is that splitting the fleet will reduce the traffic on the race course and reduce the chance of a nasty pileup. — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 21 June 2026

Otherwise, the Democrats’ showing in the campaign has amounted to a pileup of debacles. — Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 4 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pileup

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup