PILES Synonyms: 260 Similar and Opposite Words

piles 1 of 3

noun (1)

plural of pile

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

as in loads

a considerable amount a job that paid piles of money

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

piles

2 of 3

noun (2)

plural of pile

as in furs

a soft airy substance or covering the lush pile of the carpeting

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as in wools

the hairy covering of a mammal especially when fine, soft, and thick a dog with such a dense pile that he never minded the cold

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piles

3 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of pile

as in heaps

to lay or throw on top of one another piled all the clothes on the chair before putting them away

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

unpiles

as in huddles

to gather into a closely packed group the kids piled into the car

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of piles

Noun

Glossy tomatoes on the vine, a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano (party favors), piles of lemons, platters of antipasti, and dishes arriving from friends’ kitchens bring more life and color to a room than anything overly decorative ever could. — Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026 Their charred carcasses litter the steep lanes leading to the villages, while the houses have been reduced to nothing more than piles of smoking ashes. — ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026 Along the banks of the Trishuli River, a priest placed straw effigies representing the missing family members and covered them with small piles of wood before setting them alight. — Shristi Kafle, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026 Its non-towable structure means that it is transported to the site by truck and can then be installed on permanent concrete foundations or screw piles. — New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2026 The government still has not come up with a solution to the mountainous piles of rotting garbage that accumulate on the streets for months. — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026 Users who stacked up more metal discs to make more powerful piles found the weight of the discs squeezed out the moisture in the paper or cloth. — IEEE Spectrum, 31 Aug. 2026 Cole went online, bought Steiffs by the piles, and lined the shelves of King’s bedroom. — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 Dolly Parton's mass appeal, which transcends cultural, political and generational lines, is so intriguing that piles of books, essays, podcasts, TV shows and other media aim to get to the bottom of it. — Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 27 Aug. 2026

Verb

Once a week, Hall piles his three kids in the car, drives five minutes to Costco and turns into the second row of the parking lot. — Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 30 July 2026 According to relationship experts at The Gottman Institute, couples who talk through those details in advance tend to adjust more smoothly and argue less about the small stuff that piles up after move-in day. — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 29 July 2026 Instead of asking whether existing programs are delivering results, Congress piles new spending and new funding streams onto an already fragmented system. — Andy Harris, Baltimore Sun, 4 July 2026 The dirty laundry never piles up, nor does the ready-to-fold pile. — Tessa Cooper, The Spruce, 30 June 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for piles

Noun

Plus, one of the Legislature’s last acts last week was to send Newsom a bloated supplemental budget bill containing more than $3 billion in spending, including countless stacks of pork sought by lawmakers for their districts.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Her existence is solitary by design, freeing her up to disappear into her studies at all hours of the night, the doors of every institution seemingly always ready to welcome her into its stacks and viewing stations and leather reading chairs.

— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of stacks

Noun

The size and specialized nature of these loads can also create opportunities for carriers to take on new customers and routes.

— Kevin Williams, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026
Faster speeds generally mean a compromise in quality, multi-color 3D printers often waste some filament, and higher volume loads usually demand more hardware.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of loads

Noun

Chandeliers hang from sandstone ceilings while jewel-tone wallpaper, furs, and velvet warm things up.

— Julia Sayers Gokhale, Midwest Living, 9 Aug. 2026
In others, background actors adjust their chain mail and faux furs and clutch prop weapons, some of which are designed to explode and splatter blood on impact.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 13 July 2026

Definition of furs

Noun

Using luxurious cottons, silks, wools and linen to emphasize the simplicity and ease of wardrobe staples — T-shirts, shorts, sweatshirts, skirts, button-down shirts, pants and tunics — elevating their wearability for day and night.

— Tonya Blazio-Licorish, Footwear News, 4 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of wools

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

Definition of huddles

Noun

China’s grain output reached a record 715 million tons in 2025, while national plans call for increasing comprehensive grain production capacity to about 725 million tons by 2030.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
But by the end of the season, Bowen Byram and Power were eating tons of minutes together and helping lead the Sabres to the best record in the Atlantic Division.

— Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of tons

Noun

Chore Coats Chore coats, specifically vintage chore coats, are very trendy right now and flying off thrift store shelves ahead of fall.

— Ashley Poskin, Martha Stewart, 6 Sep. 2026
Deals from Uniqlo, Carhartt, Nike, Faherty, Wrangler, and more all make appearances, with incredible savings on everything from activewear to stylish coats ready to come home with you.

— Kelsey Legg, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026