dogpile

or dog-pile

[ dawg-pahyl, dog ]

noun

1. a number of people throwing themselves on top of one another, as in a brawl or a celebration of victory:

   Frank hauls in the pass just after crossing the goal line, ending up under a dogpile of his teammates in the end zone.

2. a flurry of critical or negative comments about someone or something by a large number of people:

   Take a perfectly reputable person, find a weakness, convince others to join the dogpile against them, and pretty soon you destroy them.

3. any large, rapid, or disorderly accumulation:

   There’s no way anybody can stay abreast of the dogpile of updates the average user receives daily.

verb (used with or without object)

1. to join or form a jumble of people throwing themselves on top of (someone), as in a brawl or a celebration of victory:

   Several of the club’s bouncers dogpiled on my hapless brother.

   Players dogpiled the young hero after his last-minute winning goal.

2. to join with others in a flurry of critical or negative comments about (someone or something):

   It’s my first post here, so don't dogpile me!

   Not to dogpile on you, kiddo, but I agree—you were the one who started it all with the sarcasm.

3. to load (someone or something) to the limit:

   When programming, don’t try to dogpile too many operations into one component of the application.

   Political attention will sometimes dogpile onto a single issue.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dogpile¹

First recorded in 1910–15; dog ( def ) + pile ¹( def )

Example Sentences

On Tuesday, Hernández gets the chance for which he has waited, about which he has dreamed, for seven years now: to play for a championship team in the championship series, to enjoy that dogpile, to earn a ring in recognition of a World Series in which he participated.

From Los Angeles Times

From the second host Bret Baier set up opposite the presidential hopeful it was clear this would be a classic Fox News dogpile.

From Slate

“If I say anything even remotely liberal, it’s an instant dogpile.”

From Los Angeles Times

The celebration on the field was subdued, no dogpile, no dancing, just veteran champions acting like champions.

From Los Angeles Times

If the Dodgers and starter Walker Buehler shoo away the pesky Padres one more time, the game will end with a dogpile on the mound and champagne in the clubhouse.

From Los Angeles Times