pile
/paɪl/ verb C2- To lay or throw into a pile or heap; to heap up; to collect into a mass; to accumulate · They were piling up wood on the wheelbarrow.
- To cover with heaps; or in great abundance; to fill or overfill; to load. · We piled the camel with our loads.
- To add something to a great number.
- (of vehicles) To create a hold-up.
- To place (guns, muskets, etc.) together in threes so that they can stand upright, supporting each other.
- To form a pile or heap. · Junk piled on the floor as we searched the attic for the old photograph albums.
He/she/it piles · Past piled · Past participle piled · -ing form piling
Verb forms
- Base form
- pile
- He/she/it
- piles
- Past
- piled
- Past participle
- piled
- -ing form
- piling
Phrasal verbs and expressions
From the library
The tree made a good, thick covering to protect them from the dew, and the Tin Woodman chopped a great pile of wood with his axe and Dorothy built a splendid fire that warmed her and made her feel less lonely.
“Who and what are you?” demanded Villefort, turning over a pile of papers, containing information relative to the prisoner, that a police agent had given to him on his entry, and that, already, in an hour’s time, had swelled to voluminous proportions, thanks to the corrupt espionage of which “the accused” is always made the victim.
The little girl was quite frightened when she saw the great pile of shaggy wolves, but the Tin Woodman told her all.
The Tin Woodman had chopped a big pile of wood, and now he made a fire of it, and Oz held the bottom of the balloon over the fire so that the hot air that arose from it would be caught in the silken bag.
Other matches
Learn pile in real texts
With a free account, hover any word in the library for its meaning, hear it read aloud, save words for review timed to your memory, and see how much of each book you already know.