pile

noun (1)

\ ˈpī(-ə)l

Definition of pile

(Entry 1 of 6)

1 : a long slender column usually of timber, steel, or reinforced concrete driven into the ground to carry a vertical load

2 : a wedge-shaped heraldic charge usually placed vertically with the broad end up

3a : a target-shooting arrowhead without cutting edges

b [Latin pilum] : an ancient Roman foot soldier's heavy javelin

pile

verb (1)

piled; piling

Definition of pile (Entry 2 of 6)

transitive verb

: to drive piles into

pile

verb (2)

piled; piling

Definition of pile (Entry 3 of 6)

transitive verb

1 : to lay or place in a pile : stack

2a : 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

noun (2)

Definition of pile (Entry 4 of 6)

1a(1) : a quantity of things heaped together

(2) : a heap of wood for burning a corpse or a sacrifice

b : any great number or quantity : lot

2 : a large building or group of buildings

3 : a great amount of money : fortune

4 : reactor sense 3b

pile

noun (3)

Definition of pile (Entry 5 of 6)

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

pile

noun (4)

Definition of pile (Entry 6 of 6)

1 : a single hemorrhoid

2 piles plural : hemorrhoids

Other Words from pile Phrases Containing pile Learn More About pile

First Known Use of pile

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

History and Etymology for pile

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

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