1
as in stacks
a quantity of things thrown or stacked on one another
a large pile of newspapers that needed to be disposed of
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in loads
a considerable amount
a job that paid piles of money
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in heaps
to lay or throw on top of one another
piled all the clothes on the chair before putting them away
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in huddles
to gather into a closely packed group
the kids piled into the car
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of piles
Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 June 2026
Remove piles of leaves or excess mulch in your outdoor spaces.
—Emily Hayes, Martha Stewart, 12 June 2026
The beaches of South Florida are currently clogged with bristly, stinky and downright annoying piles of seaweed known as sargassum.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 12 June 2026
This winter, like the winter before, my local Trader Joe’s displayed piles of them in prime position, and many times the store would be half sold-out before sunset.
—David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 11 June 2026
Garlic mustard often spreads when people remove it from their yards and place it in compost piles.
—Breana Pitts, CBS News, 11 June 2026
Churning piles of knees that hook and trip.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
Wooden piles, Schwartz tells me, used to have a decent lifespan in the harbor because the water was so toxic that even the critters that eat wood couldn’t survive.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 10 June 2026
The basilica's heights are bursting with nature, from the rooster who crowed while Peter denied Christ to reptiles doing the job of gargoyles, and piles of fruit that crown its spires.
—ABC News, 9 June 2026
Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Apr. 2026
The result piles more pressure on Starmer, the least popular prime minister since records began, according to some polls.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026
But when snow piles up in powdery white masses, Arizonans can't resist the opportunity to play in it.
—Michael Salerno, AZCentral.com, 19 Feb. 2026
His intervention piles fresh pressure on the prime minister.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 9 Feb. 2026
But the cleanups did remove the garbage that piles up along the San Juan, robbing the gillagers of a reliable source of income.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
These outdoor hangout spots don't get much use during the winter, but snow still piles up on decks during winter storms.
—Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 8 Jan. 2026
Blackwood’s absence piles it on with several layers of awful.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 4 Jan. 2026
Then Carol piles everything on her plate into a rough slice of avocado toast, mashing them together in an improvised layer.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Noun
Instead of dispersing evenly over the lawn after they are cut by the mower blades, wet clippings clump together and fall on the lawn in piles or clog your mower deck.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 June 2026
Remove piles of leaves or excess mulch in your outdoor spaces.
—Emily Hayes, Martha Stewart, 12 June 2026
The beaches of South Florida are currently clogged with bristly, stinky and downright annoying piles of seaweed known as sargassum.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 12 June 2026
This winter, like the winter before, my local Trader Joe’s displayed piles of them in prime position, and many times the store would be half sold-out before sunset.
—David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 11 June 2026
Garlic mustard often spreads when people remove it from their yards and place it in compost piles.
—Breana Pitts, CBS News, 11 June 2026
Churning piles of knees that hook and trip.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 June 2026
Wooden piles, Schwartz tells me, used to have a decent lifespan in the harbor because the water was so toxic that even the critters that eat wood couldn’t survive.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 10 June 2026
The basilica's heights are bursting with nature, from the rooster who crowed while Peter denied Christ to reptiles doing the job of gargoyles, and piles of fruit that crown its spires.
—ABC News, 9 June 2026
Verb
More specifically — and without spoiling a story that piles the twists as high as the corpses — Pine's an ex-British soldier pulled from his porter duties and recruited to surveil a ruthless arms dealer, Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie) staying at the hotel.
—Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Apr. 2026
The result piles more pressure on Starmer, the least popular prime minister since records began, according to some polls.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026
But when snow piles up in powdery white masses, Arizonans can't resist the opportunity to play in it.
—Michael Salerno, AZCentral.com, 19 Feb. 2026
His intervention piles fresh pressure on the prime minister.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 9 Feb. 2026
But the cleanups did remove the garbage that piles up along the San Juan, robbing the gillagers of a reliable source of income.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
These outdoor hangout spots don't get much use during the winter, but snow still piles up on decks during winter storms.
—Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 8 Jan. 2026
Blackwood’s absence piles it on with several layers of awful.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 4 Jan. 2026
Then Carol piles everything on her plate into a rough slice of avocado toast, mashing them together in an improvised layer.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piles
Noun
-
At the Obama public library, I was greeted by gleaming wood shelves and stacks of colorful tomes, and shimmering light streaming through its floor-to-ceiling windows.—
Laura Washington,
Chicago Tribune,
14 June 2026
-
Stockton Island Visible from the north end of Madeline Island, the exterior shoreline of Stockton Island has perfect sandy beaches, sea caves, and climbable sea stacks that are great for cliff jumping.—
Katherine Lawless,
Travel + Leisure,
13 June 2026
Noun
-
The initial system, named Eos, serves as a large-scale prototype designed to achieve steady-state fusion and test structural integrity under real operational loads.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
10 June 2026
-
Einride's proprietary optimization software, Saga AI, is also being used to manage EV execution of select Amazon loads, including charging planning.—
Eric Rosenbaum,
CNBC,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
The attractive, mid-30s crowd seemed to be a mix of friends and couples donning beards, tattoos, red lips, and furs worn with sneakers.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 June 2026
-
No one wanted to stand behind the commanding warriors, draped in blankets and furs, brass hoops in their earlobes, medals and wampum on their strong chests, silver armbands glinting in the light.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
Although the word cashmere is sometimes incorrectly applied to extremely soft wools, only the product of the cashmere goat is true cashmere.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Raising the bar on fabric research, Moorer paired technical wools or cotton chenille with silk, and introduced the rare and naturally soft yak fiber to the outerwear range.—
Martino Carrera,
Footwear News,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
An engineer overhears a sales call where a partner is requesting a specific feature and immediately huddles with the salesperson once the line clicks shut.—
Vikram Joshi,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
The boiler is broken, so Kuhner huddles by a small space heater in his office in the winter.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The brown seaweed has piled up along beaches throughout the region, leaving behind large mounds that many visitors say are affecting their beach experience.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2026
-
The Apalachee people, who built large ceremonial mounds that still exist, flourished here from about 1000 AD to the early 16th century, until invasion by the Spanish.—
Jeff VanderMeer,
Travel + Leisure,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
The long-range bomber, which has flown regularly since 1955, is capable of carrying up to 35 tons of munitions and can fly more than 8,000 miles without aerial refueling.—
Reeti Malhotra,
Sacbee.com,
16 June 2026
-
There's tons of things going on in this city up until July 4 to celebrate.—
Leigh Blickley,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine pets, coats and daypacks.—
Allison Gollenberg,
Hartford Courant,
9 June 2026
-
Bidders will also find capes, drapes, peignoirs, jumpsuits, fur coats and red, white and blue ensemble that Ann-Margret wore for a performance at the White House, when President Gerald Ford was honoring the Shah of Iran.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Piles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piles. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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