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
Da Lin, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2026
Black smoke billowed into the night sky of the Ukrainian capital, the morning revealing charred cars and piles of debris scattered next to damaged buildings.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 16 Apr. 2026
And don’t forget to get rid of brush piles and any dead wood.
—Terri Daxon, Oc Register, 16 Apr. 2026
Gray foxes may use wood piles, hollow trees, or brush piles as dens, says Pierce.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2026
Lacking vegetation, reservoir crappies set up to spawn around cypress trees, stumps, brush piles, or a nice quiet boat dock.
—Cory Schmidt, Outdoor Life, 15 Apr. 2026
Hidden Storage in Plain Sight The living room is where clutter piles up fastest — blankets, remote controls, kids’ toys and magazines.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Charlotte Observer, 14 Apr. 2026
Don’t let piles of clothes or other items accumulate, either.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 14 Apr. 2026
This comprises 5,468 ultra-fast charging piles, 1,216 800-V ultra-fast charging stations, and 6,269 stations in highway service areas.
—New Atlas, 9 Apr. 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
The three-block stretch, between 16th and 19th avenues, looks markedly different from just a year ago, when tents, abandoned cars and piles of trash crowded the street and sidewalks.
—Da Lin, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2026
Black smoke billowed into the night sky of the Ukrainian capital, the morning revealing charred cars and piles of debris scattered next to damaged buildings.
—Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 16 Apr. 2026
And don’t forget to get rid of brush piles and any dead wood.
—Terri Daxon, Oc Register, 16 Apr. 2026
Gray foxes may use wood piles, hollow trees, or brush piles as dens, says Pierce.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 16 Apr. 2026
Lacking vegetation, reservoir crappies set up to spawn around cypress trees, stumps, brush piles, or a nice quiet boat dock.
—Cory Schmidt, Outdoor Life, 15 Apr. 2026
Hidden Storage in Plain Sight The living room is where clutter piles up fastest — blankets, remote controls, kids’ toys and magazines.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Charlotte Observer, 14 Apr. 2026
Don’t let piles of clothes or other items accumulate, either.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 14 Apr. 2026
This comprises 5,468 ultra-fast charging piles, 1,216 800-V ultra-fast charging stations, and 6,269 stations in highway service areas.
—New Atlas, 9 Apr. 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
Verb
-
Aledo stacks another win Aledo won its 11th consecutive game Friday, trouncing Saginaw 15-0 in shutout fashion.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The potato stacks pair beautifully with roast beef, steak, chicken, or sautéed fish.—
Victoria Spencer,
Martha Stewart,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
Tinos huddles close to its much more popular cousin, Mykonos, just a 20-minute ferry ride away.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The presentation is muddied a bit by the strong bass and lack of stereo separation, which crowds the lower registers (something that’s not helped by the recording's acoustics).—
Mark Knapp,
PC Magazine,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Filming in front of real audiences, alongside real racers and real pit crews, the director crowds the screen with people.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
13 Dec. 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
-
The radiation bunches up the electrons, leading to their amplifying only a specific wavelength, creating a laser beam.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
10 June 2024
Cite this Entry
“Piles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piles. Accessed 21 Apr. 2026.
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