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
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
In recent weeks California's Central Valley has been blanketed with a thick dense fog known as tule (TOO-lee) fog, causing massive vehicle pileups along Interstate-5 along Highway CA-99.
—
Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 5 Feb. 2026
Troops from the Self-Defense Forces were drafted in to help authorities struggling to clear a nearly 7-foot pileup of snow in the city of Aomori, the biggest seen in four decades.
—Reuters, NBC news, 4 Feb. 2026
Tulare County officials initially estimated that 150 vehicles were involved in the crash in a post shared to Facebook earlier on Saturday, but CHP disputed that number, saying there were 59 vehicles involved in the pileup.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 1 Feb. 2026
On Tuesday night, New York City’s color-loving partygoers braved the fierce cold, emerging from cars on Gansevoort Street clad in floor-length sequin gowns and a kaleidoscope of prints, stepping over three-foot snow pileups to enter the museum.
—Gaby Keiderling, Vogue, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pileup
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Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 5 Feb. 2026
Troops from the Self-Defense Forces were drafted in to help authorities struggling to clear a nearly 7-foot pileup of snow in the city of Aomori, the biggest seen in four decades.
—Reuters, NBC news, 4 Feb. 2026
Tulare County officials initially estimated that 150 vehicles were involved in the crash in a post shared to Facebook earlier on Saturday, but CHP disputed that number, saying there were 59 vehicles involved in the pileup.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 1 Feb. 2026
On Tuesday night, New York City’s color-loving partygoers braved the fierce cold, emerging from cars on Gansevoort Street clad in floor-length sequin gowns and a kaleidoscope of prints, stepping over three-foot snow pileups to enter the museum.
—Gaby Keiderling, Vogue, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pileup
Cite this Entry
“Pileup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pileup. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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