1
as in stacking
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 crowding
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 piling
Ashutosh Joshi, Bloomberg, 28 Jan. 2026
When questions began piling up, detailed public reporting quietly stopped.
—Jennifer Nassour, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
Assess damage With sleet, ice and some snow piling up on streets, trees and poles also came down in some areas.
—Morayo Ogunbayo, AJC.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Motor vehicle accidents are piling up.
—Carol Taylor, Dallas Morning News, 26 Jan. 2026
Disruptions were also piling up at airports in Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Nashville, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
—Dan Raby, CBS News, 25 Jan. 2026
Flight cancellations are piling up into Sunday.
—Star-Telegram Staff, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Jan. 2026
At City Hall, more e-mails were piling up.
—Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2026
Those two even had the wild idea of piling the wood outside the toilet door, where the balcony turned a blind corner.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Verb
Indian stocks are on track for their worst start to a year in a decade, piling pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration to deliver fresh catalysts for economic growth in the upcoming budget.
—Ashutosh Joshi, Bloomberg, 28 Jan. 2026
When questions began piling up, detailed public reporting quietly stopped.
—Jennifer Nassour, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
Assess damage With sleet, ice and some snow piling up on streets, trees and poles also came down in some areas.
—Morayo Ogunbayo, AJC.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Motor vehicle accidents are piling up.
—Carol Taylor, Dallas Morning News, 26 Jan. 2026
Disruptions were also piling up at airports in Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Nashville, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
—Dan Raby, CBS News, 25 Jan. 2026
Flight cancellations are piling up into Sunday.
—Star-Telegram Staff, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Jan. 2026
At City Hall, more e-mails were piling up.
—Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2026
Those two even had the wild idea of piling the wood outside the toilet door, where the balcony turned a blind corner.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piling
Noun
-
Joe subtly smiled, like a Western Pennsylvania dad after his kid just lowered his shoulder and pushed the pile forward into the end zone.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Mozilla’s cash pile is dwarfed by OpenAI, which has raised more than $60 billion from investors across the globe, and its rival Anthropic, which has raised more than $30 billion, according to PitchBook.—
Ashley Capoot,
CNBC,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Amass a roster in the top five in the sport, typically by stacking blue-chip recruits and developing them.—
David Ubben,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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By stacking these measurements, the researchers reconstructed a three-dimensional map of charge transport with nanoscale resolution, offering a rare look at how electrical pathways form—and break down—inside the material.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Many airport lounges have also faced crowding issues, sometimes implementing time limits on lounge usage or having to turn away customers due to a lack of space.—
Ryley Amond,
CNBC,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Checking the app shortly before departure can also help riders spot delays or crowding and adjust their plans if needed.—
Navdeep Kaur,
Mercury News,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The two are seen huddling under a tree in the rain, laughing companionably.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
-
The cost of heating a home over winter is now more than some elderly couples’ pensions, Pekingnology reported, and villagers are huddling under blankets, or secretly burning firewood.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Piling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piling. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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