plural stacks
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
stacks 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
stacked; stacking; stacks
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
Patrice Horn3
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.
P. H. Hutchins, Jr.4
: compare
—used with against
such a crime is nothing when stacked against a murder—Pete Censky
Pete Censky
: to form a stack
stacker
noun
Synonyms
Noun
- abundance
- barrel
- basketful
- boatload
- bucket
- bunch
- bundle
- bushel
- carload
- chunk
- deal
- dozen
- fistful
- gobs
- good deal
- heap
- hundred
- lashings [chiefly British]
- lashins
- loads
- lot
- 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
- store
- ton
- truckload
- volume
- wad
- wealth
- yard
Verb
Examples of stack in a Sentence
Noun
He had arranged the letters in stacks.
She took a magazine from near the top of the stack.
Verb
She spent the afternoon splitting and stacking firewood.
She stacked the plates in the cupboard.
He stacked the books on the table.
The other players accused him of stacking the deck.
Recent Examples on the WebJon Stojan, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Fueled by stacks of wood on the construction site, the fire reached temperatures above 2,000 degrees, Johnson said at a news conference Thursday.
—Michael Gordon, Charlotte Observer, 16 Apr. 2024
Miami music memories Chern is almost dwarfed by a stack of new arrivals on LPs and 45s in protective clear plastic sleeves to his left on the counter.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
The exhibition features an array of objects from the brand like stacks of trunks, fine jewelry, and leather goods that have yet to be seen in North and South America.
—Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 15 Apr. 2024
Both make use of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is a stack of DRAM memory dies atop a control chip.
—IEEE Spectrum, 9 Apr. 2024
The mofongo is studded with bits of smoky tempeh, topped with a stack of fried oyster mushrooms, and served with a coconut-cream curry.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2024
Brittany Mahomes Says Binging Suits Inspired Her to 'Completely Change' Her Wardrobe
The mom of two, known for her stand-out sideline style, paired the piece with a whole lot of gold, from her stiletto sandals to a stack of bracelets on her wrist.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 31 Mar. 2024
The wearable reader is a magnetic-signal transmitter-receiver about the size of a stack of three or four American Kennedy half-dollars or E.U. 10 Euro collector coins.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2024
Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 10 Apr. 2024
To up the ante, Waters’ renegade film called for three 8mm projectors running simultaneously, the images stacked one on top of another.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Multiple items can stack the 10-cent discount at a maximum of 30 cents per gallon (meaning three eligible items bought).
—Kimberly Cataudella Tutuska, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
The city itself is known for its colorful wooden houses—a rainbow of rusty red, royal blue, sunny yellow and earthy green, each stacked prettily along the waterfront.
—Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Apr. 2024
Push-Up Katie Thompson Start in a high plank with your palms flat on the floor, hands shoulder-width apart, shoulders stacked directly above your wrists, legs extended behind you, and core and glutes engaged.
—Christa Sgobba, SELF, 2 Apr. 2024
Inside the narrow nook, terracotta pots are artfully arranged and stacked on shelves against the walls, along the radiator and even on the windowsill.
—Essence, 2 Apr. 2024
Some people think that there is a correlation between price and abandon: the cheaper the buffet, the higher the customers stack their plates.
—Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Babies develop hand-eye coordination by banging, nesting, stacking, and rolling these cups around.
—Maya Polton, Parents, 29 Mar. 2024
Noun
Having a new application to build its foundational technology on, rather than building it on the previous use cases, Galaxy Semiconductor built a new software stack from the ground up.
—Jon Stojan, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Fueled by stacks of wood on the construction site, the fire reached temperatures above 2,000 degrees, Johnson said at a news conference Thursday.
—Michael Gordon, Charlotte Observer, 16 Apr. 2024
Miami music memories Chern is almost dwarfed by a stack of new arrivals on LPs and 45s in protective clear plastic sleeves to his left on the counter.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
The exhibition features an array of objects from the brand like stacks of trunks, fine jewelry, and leather goods that have yet to be seen in North and South America.
—Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 15 Apr. 2024
Both make use of high-bandwidth memory (HBM), which is a stack of DRAM memory dies atop a control chip.
—IEEE Spectrum, 9 Apr. 2024
The mofongo is studded with bits of smoky tempeh, topped with a stack of fried oyster mushrooms, and served with a coconut-cream curry.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2024
Brittany Mahomes Says Binging Suits Inspired Her to 'Completely Change' Her Wardrobe
The mom of two, known for her stand-out sideline style, paired the piece with a whole lot of gold, from her stiletto sandals to a stack of bracelets on her wrist.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 31 Mar. 2024
The wearable reader is a magnetic-signal transmitter-receiver about the size of a stack of three or four American Kennedy half-dollars or E.U. 10 Euro collector coins.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Mar. 2024
Verb
Later in the day, look for a menu stacked with dishes such as carnitas ($15), pozole rojo ($13) and flautas de tinga ($10).
—Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 10 Apr. 2024
To up the ante, Waters’ renegade film called for three 8mm projectors running simultaneously, the images stacked one on top of another.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 8 Apr. 2024
Multiple items can stack the 10-cent discount at a maximum of 30 cents per gallon (meaning three eligible items bought).
—Kimberly Cataudella Tutuska, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
The city itself is known for its colorful wooden houses—a rainbow of rusty red, royal blue, sunny yellow and earthy green, each stacked prettily along the waterfront.
—Olivia Morelli, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Apr. 2024
Push-Up Katie Thompson Start in a high plank with your palms flat on the floor, hands shoulder-width apart, shoulders stacked directly above your wrists, legs extended behind you, and core and glutes engaged.
—Christa Sgobba, SELF, 2 Apr. 2024
Inside the narrow nook, terracotta pots are artfully arranged and stacked on shelves against the walls, along the radiator and even on the windowsill.
—Essence, 2 Apr. 2024
Some people think that there is a correlation between price and abandon: the cheaper the buffet, the higher the customers stack their plates.
—Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Babies develop hand-eye coordination by banging, nesting, stacking, and rolling these cups around.
—Maya Polton, Parents, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stack.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near stack
Cite this Entry
“Stack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stack. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
stack
1 of 2 noun1
: a large pile (as of hay, straw, or grain) usually shaped like a cone
2
a
: an orderly pile of objects usually one on top of the other
a stack of dishes
b
: a large number or amount
4
: a structure with shelves for storing books
—usually used in plural
stack
2 of 2 verb
: to arrange in or form a stack : pile
stacked the dishes on the table
stacker
noun
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