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

• accumulation
• collection
• pile
• jumble
• mixture
• 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

Compared to that seven-car pileup of a road movie, Honey Don’t is practically a whipsmart thriller. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2025

Denny Hamlin has called out Austin Hill for causing the 16-car pileup during the Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International last weekend. —Saajan Jogia, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025

Each back in the Jaleel McLaughlin-Audric Estime-Tyler Badie-Blake Watson pileup has gotten their share of opportunities. —Luca Evans, Denver Post, 13 Aug. 2025

New Horizons didn't observe such a pileup, but Persephone would send a more sensitive instrument that could make a more detailed examination. —Nola Taylor Tillman, Space.com, 12 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pileup

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