pile up
Britishverb
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to gather or be gathered in a pile; accumulate
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informal to crash or cause to crash
noun
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Accumulate, as in The leaves piled up in the yard , or He piled up a huge fortune . In this idiom pile means “form a heap or mass of something.” [Mid-1800s]
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Be involved in a crash, as in When the police arrived, at least four cars had piled up . [Late 1800s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The lawyer said he hoped the massive verdict would serve as a wake-up call for the department and the city as more lawsuits pile up over less-lethal weapons.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Even as new signs of economic strain pile up, Federal Reserve officials are sticking to an upbeat forecast for growth, and they’re pointing to artificial intelligence to explain why.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
When the industry euphemisms pile up, so do my doubts.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026
In a blog post, the band's former press officer Stuart Bailie recalled telling the papers that a "pile up of snow on the venues makes it too hazardous" to play, because "a roof might collapse".
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
“Why, you pile up your hands, choose a number, and draw out in turn, and the person who draws at the number has to answer truly any question put by the rest. It’s great fun.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
