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

The team searched through belongings, but no one poured gas or piled up flammables. —Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024

Back inside the studio, Richardson flops onto the sofa in her dressing room after an intense block of filming, a mass of white curls still piled up on her head. —K.j. Yossman, Variety, 29 Mar. 2024

But the piling itself was only chipped, not significantly damaged. —Curt Devine, CNN, 27 Mar. 2024

The negative is that the Dolphins are piling up future dead money hits. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2024

Serve them with toothpicks or pile into slider buns for mini-meatball sandwiches. 10 of 19 Sweet Potato Fritters with Yogurt-Chive Dipping Sauce View Recipe Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, fritters are what appetizer dreams are made of. —Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Mar. 2024

These files pile up over time and end up slowing your phone. —Dua Rashid / Gizmodo, Quartz, 24 Mar. 2024

Paper returns are no longer piling up in government cafeterias. —Scott Horsley, NPR, 24 Mar. 2024

Saddles were piled by the door, and bridles hung from the rafters. —Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Mar. 2024

Noun

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

It has been widely speculated that the cash infusion from Truth Social could help Trump pay off his immense pile of legal bills. —Lucas Ropek / Gizmodo, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2024

In recent months, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan and Fed chairman Jerome Powell have been calling for an open and honest conversation about how to shrink America’s $34 trillion public debt pile. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024

Many thought that a healthy forest would never thrive in impoverished, mercury-laden topsoil and that the piles of sandy tailings, the residue from the gold mining effort, and the pools of wastewater were irremediable. —Simeon Tegel, NPR, 2 Apr. 2024

Ben had died in an unfortunate accident involving a pile of boxes. —Camille Butera, WIRED, 1 Apr. 2024

Archaeologists found piles of lime, stones, ceramics, tiles, bricks and tools, frozen in time under layers of volcanic ash. —Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024

Within the residence, archaeologists found piles of building materials near a reception area decorated with a mythological painting. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 30 Mar. 2024

BlackRock's Fink joins other Wall Street chief executives including JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon and Bank of America's Brian Moynihan and even Fed chair Jerome Powell in warning over the U.S. debt pile. —Billy Bambrough, Forbes, 28 Mar. 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

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

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