pile

1 of 6

noun (1)

ˈpī(-ə)l 

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

2

: 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

pile

2 of 6

verb (1)

piled; piling

transitive verb

: to drive piles into

pile

3 of 6

verb (2)

piled; piling

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

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

pile

4 of 6

noun (2)

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

(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

: reactor sense 3b

pile

5 of 6

noun (3)

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

pileless

ˈpī(-ə)l-ləs 

adjective

pile

6 of 6

noun (4)

1

: a single hemorrhoid

2

piles plural : hemorrhoids

Synonyms

Verb (2)

• heap
• mound
• stack

Noun (2)

• cock
• heap
• hill
• mound
• mountain
• stack

Noun (3)

• down
• floss
• fluff
• fur
• fuzz
• lint
• nap

Examples of pile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

No one can sleep, everyone’s drinking too much, bills are piling up, and the triggers are coming so fast and furious that violence seems inevitable. —Trish Deitch, Variety, 25 Apr. 2024

If your spring cleaning to-dos are piling up, streamline your routine with a multifunctional gadget. —Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2024

Elon Musk’s problems at Tesla are piling up, exemplified by the $700 billion–plus the carmaker has lost in value since November 2021. —Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 19 Apr. 2024

Work piled onto AKPsi hopefuls barely allowed time to eat or attend lectures, Tran said. —Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 18 Apr. 2024

The Royals have scored 10 or more runs five times while piling up 257 total bases. —Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 18 Apr. 2024

Medical bills pile up like fallen bricks, lost wages create a financial chasm, and the path to recovery can feel shrouded in uncertainty. —Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024

As the Simpson jokes piled up, Ohlmeyer never spoke directly to Downey about it. —Geoff Edgers, Washington Post, 12 Apr. 2024

In one image, a soldier held a leash around the neck of a detainee; in another, soldiers smiled beside naked and hooded prisoners piled into a pyramid. —Mallory Moench, TIME, 14 Apr. 2024

Noun

These roosts vary depending on the ambient temperature and include anything from buildings and trees to under rocks and in piles of wood. —Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 16 Apr. 2024

On a Discord channel for the coin’s investors, legitimate queries were buried under a pile of spam. —Joel Khalili, WIRED, 15 Apr. 2024

How Modern Footwear Supports, and Changes, the Foot Nothing surprised me more on that first barefoot run than realizing that, without traditional running shoes, my feet were essentially piles of mush at the end of my legs. —Laura Lancaster, Outdoor Life, 11 Apr. 2024

The tombs were built with extra pieces of limestone or terracotta piles, according to the release, or were dug into the ground next to the road. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2024

Once a week, workers turn each windrow so all pieces of material spend time in the hot inner core of the pile. —Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 9 Apr. 2024

Since these 16 x 16-inch cloths are made with a dual-weave design with both a high pile side and a short pile side, they are equipped to handle a variety of tasks and cleaners while keeping your car’s surfaces damage free. —Jenna Clark, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Apr. 2024

Storms this winter have caused significant damage, knocking down one of the pier’s pilings, a portion of the pile cap and large sections of its railing. —Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2024

The clip then captured a pile of gifts and balloons and Ella blowing out her candles. —Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, dart, quill, pole driven into the ground, from Old English pīl, from Latin pilum javelin

Verb (2)

Middle English, from pile entry 4

Noun (2)

Middle English pier of a bridge, stack, heap, from Middle French pille pier of a bridge, from Latin pila pillar

Noun (3)

Middle English, in plural piles "hair, plumage," borrowed from Anglo-French peil, pil "hair, coat of animal hair, cloth with thick nap" (continental Old French peil, poil "hair"), going back to Latin pilus "hair," of obscure origin

Note: Anglo-French pil for peil, apparently yielding long i in Middle English, is exceptional. The Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, proposes that the word is "partly" borrowed directly from Latin. Middle English Dictionary suggests borrowing from Middle Dutch pijl.

Noun (4)

Middle English pilez, plural, from Medieval Latin pili, perhaps from Latin pila ball

First Known Use

Noun (1)

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Noun (3)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (4)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing pile

• atomic pile
• at the bottom of the pile
• at the top of the pile
• compost pile
• dog pile
• pile drive
• pile driver
• pile in
• pile on
• pile out
• pile (something) on

Kids Definition

pile

1 of 6 noun

ˈpī(ə)l 

: 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 noun

1

a

: a quantity of things heaped together

b

: a heap of wood for burning a corpse or a sacrifice

2

: a great amount

3

: reactor sense 2

pile

4 of 6 verb

piled; piling

1

: to lay or place something in a pile : stack

2

: to heap in abundance : load

3

: to move or push forward hastily or in a disorganized way : crowd

piled into the car

pile

5 of 6 noun

1

: 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 noun

1

: hemorrhoid sense 1

2

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

noun

ˈpī(ə)l 

1

: a single hemorrhoid

2

piles plural : hemorrhoids

also : the condition of one affected with hemorrhoids