Meaning of pile In English

• 0 objects positioned one on top of another:

  • a pile of books

  • a pile of dirty clothes

  • a large pile of sand

  • I've got piles/a pile of things to do today.

• 1 a strong column or post of wood, metal, or concrete that is pushed into the ground to help support a building

• 2 the soft surface made by the ends of many short threads on a carpet or on cloth such as velvet:

  • a luxurious deep-pile carpet

• 3 a large building:

  • They've got a great big Victorian pile somewhere out in the country.

• 4 →  haemorrhoids UK specialized

• 5 to arrange objects into a pile:

  • We piled plenty of logs up next to the fire.

  • Please pile your homework books neatly on the table as you leave.

  • Her plate was piled (high) with salad.

  • Snow had piled up against the walls.

• 6 (of a group of people) to move together, especially in an uncontrolled way:

  • As soon as the train stopped, they all piled in/out.

• 7 a number of things lying on top of each other:

  • a pile of newspapers

  • After dinner there is always a pile of dishes to be washed.

  • I’ve got piles of homework.

• 8 the soft surface of short threads on a carpet (= material for covering a floor) or on some types of cloth:

  • carpets with a deep pile

• 9 (of a group of people) to move together, esp. in a way that is not organized:

  • About ten kids piled into the room, all talking at once.

  • Someone yelled "Fire!" and we all piled out into the street.

• 10 to put (things) near or on top of each other, or to collect in this way:

  • [ I ] Magazines just pile up on my desk at work.

  • [ M ] I asked her to pile on extra potatoes.

• 11 a large amount of something:

  • a pile of cash/money

  • consumers with piles of credit card debt

  • I have piles of paperwork to finish.

• 12 at the bottom or top of a group of competing things:

  • Despite a shaky first quarter, the athletic shoe producer has once again emerged at the top of the pile.

• 13 said when a store sells large amounts of a product at cheap prices, without spending effort or money on displays, advertising, etc.:

  • The discount grocer is once again thriving at the pile-it-high, sell-it-cheap end of the market.