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
Nick Paumgarten, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Debris piles have replaced pews; the welcoming church has closed its doors; and the churchgoers’ mounting grief has swelled.
—Holly Yan, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
Holding on to shoe boxes takes up precious closet space, and piles of unused books are only dust magnets.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 29 Sep. 2025
Some sites include piles of needles and other hazardous material.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2025
The lawn may soon be covered in piles of leaves.
—Lauren David, Southern Living, 27 Sep. 2025
For Zone 2, which is the area beyond Zone 1 up to 100 feet from a building, property owners are required to keep grass trimmed, space out shrubs and trees, and keep a 10-foot buffer around wood piles.
—Hannah Ruhoff, Sacbee.com, 26 Sep. 2025
Large leaf piles require several rounds of filling and dispensing the bags to process.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Remove Hiding Spaces Boxelder bugs seek shelter in stacks of wood, piles of leaves and rocks, and overgrown plants.
—Andrea Beck, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Sep. 2025
The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Sep. 2025
That’s where the paperwork piles up, court fees skyrocket, and grieving families are forced into bureaucratic limbo for months — sometimes years.
—Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
Noun
Early the next morning, out on Crotch Island, Ramos led Eglin and a few visitors down an old track littered with rusted machinery and piles of grout (the vulgate for waste rock) to an arena-size section of the quarry where the four men were already busy cutting stone.
—Nick Paumgarten, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Debris piles have replaced pews; the welcoming church has closed its doors; and the churchgoers’ mounting grief has swelled.
—Holly Yan, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
Holding on to shoe boxes takes up precious closet space, and piles of unused books are only dust magnets.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 29 Sep. 2025
Some sites include piles of needles and other hazardous material.
—Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Sep. 2025
The lawn may soon be covered in piles of leaves.
—Lauren David, Southern Living, 27 Sep. 2025
For Zone 2, which is the area beyond Zone 1 up to 100 feet from a building, property owners are required to keep grass trimmed, space out shrubs and trees, and keep a 10-foot buffer around wood piles.
—Hannah Ruhoff, Sacbee.com, 26 Sep. 2025
Large leaf piles require several rounds of filling and dispensing the bags to process.
—Bestreviews, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025
Remove Hiding Spaces Boxelder bugs seek shelter in stacks of wood, piles of leaves and rocks, and overgrown plants.
—Andrea Beck, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
This recipe piles them on, casting apples — which are starting to appear at farmers markets — and nuts front and center as main characters supported by a chorus of greens.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Sep. 2025
That’s where the paperwork piles up, court fees skyrocket, and grieving families are forced into bureaucratic limbo for months — sometimes years.
—Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piles
Verb
-
Behind its all-glass façade, the home stacks four bedrooms and five baths around an elevator core.—
Spencer Elliott,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
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In the conflict between Hobbes and Rousseau, between visions of primordial humankind as inherently brutal or inherently peaceful, Tsangari stacks the dramatic deck in favor of benign and placid human nature.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks huddles with his team during the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 27, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana.—
Alex Kirschenbaum,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Fatemian simply bunches each slice slightly, creating a ruffled, flower-like radish slice that is then inserted between the rest of the vegetables.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Piles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piles. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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