stack

¹stack

noun \ˈstak\

Definition of STACK

1

: a large usually conical pile (as of hay, straw, or grain in the sheaf) left standing in the field for storage

2

a : an orderly pile or heap

b : a large quantity or number

3

: an English unit of measure especially for firewood that is equal to 108 cubic feet

4

a : a number of flues embodied in one structure rising above a roof

b : a vertical pipe (as to carry off smoke)

c : the exhaust pipe of an internal combustion engine

5

a : a structure of bookshelves for compact storage of books —usually used in plural

b plural : a section of a building housing such structures

6

: a pile of poker chips

7

a : a memory or a section of memory in a computer for temporary storage in which the last item stored is the first retrieved; also : a data structure that simulates a stack <a push-down stack>

b : a computer memory consisting of arrays of memory elements stacked one on top of another

Examples of STACK

1. He had arranged the letters in stacks.
2. She took a magazine from near the top of the stack.

Origin of STACK

Middle English stak, from Old Norse stakkr; akin to Russian stog stack and probably to Old English staca stake

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to STACK

Synonyms

abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk, deal, dozen, fistful, gobs, good deal, heap, hundred, lashings (also lashins) [chiefly British], loads, mass, mess, mountain, much, multiplicity, myriad, oodles, pack, passel, peck, pile, plateful, plenitude, plentitude, plenty, pot, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, sheaf, shipload, sight, slew, spate, lot, store, ton, truckload, volume, wad, wealth, yard

Antonyms

ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, little, mite, mouthful, nip, ounce, peanuts, pinch, pittance, scruple, shade, shadow, smidgen (also smidgeon or smidgin or smidge), speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, taste, touch, trace

Related Words

epidemic, plague, rash; bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, plethora, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus; deluge, flood, overflow; army, bevy, cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host, legion, mob, multitude, press, score, sea, swarm, throng; gazillion, jillion, kazillion, million, thousands, trillion, zillion

Near Antonyms

atom, crumb, dot, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, grain, granule, iota, jot, modicum, molecule, mote, nubbin, particle, ray, scintilla, scrap, shred, tittle, whit; smatter, smattering; dash, drop, morsel, shot; piece, portion, section; absence, dearth, famine, lack, paucity, poverty, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, undersupply, want; deficiency, deficit, inadequacy, insufficiency, meagerness, scantiness, scantness, skimpiness

Other Agriculture/Gardening Terms

fallow, graft, heirloom, loam, potash, soilage, swath, tilth, windfall

Rhymes with STACK

back, black, Braque, clack, claque, crack, flack, flak, hack, jack, knack, lac, lack, lakh, mac, Mac, pack, plaque, quack, rack, sac, sack, sacque, shack, slack, smack, snack, tach, tack, thwack, track, Wac, wack, whack, wrack, yak

²stack

verb

Definition of STACK

transitive verb

1

a : to arrange in a stack : pile

b : to pile in or on <stacked the table with books> <stack the dishwasher>

2

a : to arrange secretly for cheating <stack a deck of cards>

b : to arrange or fix so as to make a particular result likely <the odds are stacked against us> <will stack juries to suit themselves — Patrice Horn>

3

a : to assign (an airplane) by radio to a particular altitude and position within a group circling before landing

b : to put into a waiting line <another dozen rigs are stacked up and waiting — P. H. Hutchins, Jr.>

4

: compare —used with against <such a crime is nothing when stacked against a murder — Pete Censky>

intransitive verb

: to form a stack

— stack·er noun

Examples of STACK

1. She spent the afternoon splitting and stacking firewood.
2. She stacked the plates in the cupboard.
3. He stacked the books on the table.
4. The other players accused him of stacking the deck.

First Known Use of STACK

14th century

Related to STACK

Synonyms

heap, mound, pile

Antonyms

unpile

Related Words

bank; layer, pyramid; accumulate, amass, assemble, collect, concentrate, garner, gather, group, mass; bunch, clump, lump