pile
1 (pīl)
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin pīla, pillar.]
noun
- A quantity of objects stacked or thrown together in a heap. See synonyms at heap
- Informal A large accumulation or quantity: a pile of trouble.
- Slang A large sum of money; a fortune: made their pile in the commodities market.
- A funeral pyre.
- A very large building or complex of buildings.
- A nuclear reactor.
- A voltaic pile.
verb: piled, pil·ing, piles.
transitive verb
- To place or lay in or as if in a pile or heap: piled books onto the table.
- To load (something) with a heap or pile: piled the table with books.
- To heap (something) in abundance: piled potato salad onto the plate.
intransitive verb
- To form a heap or pile.
- To move in, out, or forward in a disorderly mass or group: pile into a bus; pile out of a car.
phrasal verbs
- pile up
- To accumulate.
- Informal To undergo a serious vehicular collision.
pile
2 (pīl)
[Middle English, from Old English pīl, shaft, stake, from Latin pīlum, spear, pestle.]
noun
- A heavy beam of timber, concrete, or steel, driven into the earth as a foundation or support for a structure.
- Heraldry A wedge-shaped charge pointing downward.
- A Roman javelin.
transitive verb: piled, pil·ing, piles.
- To drive piles into.
- To support with piles.
pile
3 (pīl)
[From Middle English piles, hair, plumage, probably from Middle Dutch pijl, fine hair, and Middle Low German pile, downy plumage, both from Latin pilus, hair.]
noun
- Cut or uncut loops of yarn forming the surface of certain fabrics, such as velvet, plush, and carpeting.
- The surface so formed.
- Soft fine hair, fur, or wool.
derivatives
- piled
- adjective
