stack

[ stak ]

noun

1. a more or less orderly pile or heap:

   a precariously balanced stack of books;

   a neat stack of papers.

2. a large, usually conical, circular, or rectangular pile of hay, straw, or the like (often used in combination):

   There was a strawstack in the corner of the field that the children liked to climb.

3. Informal. a large quantity or number:

   We've got a stack of great ideas for new projects, so I'm feeling optimistic about work.

   There are stacks of family fun to be had at our newly renovated amusement park.

4. Often stacks. a set of shelves for books or other materials ranged compactly one above the other, as in a library.
5. stacks, the area or part of a library in which the books and other holdings are stored or kept.
6. Computers.
   1. a data structure programmed to consist of elements added one at a time and only removable one at a time in order of recency.
   2. a data set or list arranged in this way, so that the last item stored is the first item retrieved or removed.
   3. memory dedicated to temporary storage of data arranged this way.
7. a number of chimneys or flues grouped together.
8. smokestack ( def 1 ).
9. a vertical duct for conveying warm air from a leader to a register on an upper story of a building.
10. a vertical waste pipe or vent pipe serving a number of floors.
11. Slang. a large quantity of money, especially one thousand dollars:

    He spent two stacks on those jeans.

    A high-quality computer may cost a stack, but it'll last you longer than a cheap one.

12. Radio. an antenna consisting of a number of components connected in a substantially vertical series.
13. Military. a conical, free-standing group of three rifles placed on their butts and hooked together near the top of the barrel with an attached swivel.
14. Also called air stack, Aviation. a group of airplanes circling over an airport awaiting their turns to land.
15. an English measure for coal and wood, equal to 108 cubic feet (3 cu. m).
16. Geology. a column of rock isolated from a shore by the action of waves.
17. Games.
    1. a given quantity of chips that can be bought at one time, as in poker or other gambling games.
    2. the quantity of chips held by a player at a given point in a gambling game.

verb (used with object)

1. to pile, arrange, or place in a more or less orderly heap:

   I spent all yesterday loading and stacking hay bales by hand.

   She stacked her papers and put away her tools, then got ready to leave.

2. to cover or load with something in stacks or piles:

   We stacked the car with luggage and headed out on our road trip.

3. to arrange or select unfairly in order to force a desired result, especially to load (a jury, committee, etc.) with members having a biased viewpoint:

   The lawyer charged that the jury had been stacked against his client.

4. to keep (a number of incoming airplanes) flying nearly circular patterns at various altitudes over an airport where crowded runways, a low ceiling, or other temporary conditions prevent immediate landings.

verb (used without object)

1. to be arranged in or form a stack:

   These chairs stack easily.

verb phrase

1. 1. Informal. to compare; measure up (often followed by against ):

      How does the movie stack up against the novel?

   2. Informal. to appear plausible or in keeping with the known facts:

      Your story just doesn't stack up.

   3. Aviation. to control the flight patterns of (airplanes waiting to land at an airport) so that each circles at a designated altitude.

stack

/ stæk /

noun

1. an ordered pile or heap
2. a large orderly pile of hay, straw, etc, for storage in the open air
3. often plural library science compactly spaced bookshelves, used to house collections of books in an area usually prohibited to library users
4. a number of aircraft circling an airport at different altitudes, awaiting their signal to land
5. a large amount

   a stack of work

6. military a pile of rifles or muskets in the shape of a cone
7. a measure of coal or wood equal to 108 cubic feet
8. See chimney stack smokestack
9. a vertical pipe, such as the funnel of a ship or the soil pipe attached to the side of a building
10. a high column of rock, esp one isolated from the mainland by the erosive action of the sea
11. an area in a computer memory for temporary storage

verb

1. to place in a stack; pile

   to stack bricks on a lorry

2. to load or fill up with piles of something

   to stack a lorry with bricks

3. to control (a number of aircraft waiting to land at an airport) so that each flies at a different altitude
4. stack the cards
   to prearrange the order of a pack of cards secretly so that the deal will benefit someone

stack

/ stăk /

1. An isolated, columnar mass or island of rock along a coastal cliff. Stacks are formed by the erosion of cliffs through wave action and are larger than chimneys.

Derived Forms

• ˈstackable, adjective
• ˈstacker, noun

Other Words From

• stack·er noun
• stack·less adjective
• re·stack verb (used with object)
• un·stack adjective verb

Word History and Origins

Origin of stack¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the noun) Middle English stak from Old Norse stakkr “haystack”; verb derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of stack¹

C13: from Old Norse stakkr haystack, of Germanic origin; related to Russian stog

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. blow one's stack, Slang. to lose one's temper or become uncontrollably angry, especially to display one's fury, as by shouting:

   When he came in and saw the mess he blew his stack.

2. stack the deck,
   1. to arrange cards or a pack of cards so as to cheat:

      He stacked the deck and won every hand.

   2. to manipulate events, information, etc., especially unethically, in order to achieve an advantage or desired result:

      Most players in the sport are amateurs, so having a professionally trained team member could really stack the deck in their favor.

More idioms and phrases containing stack

• blow one's top (stack)
• cards are stacked
• needle in a haystack
• swear on a stack of bibles

Example Sentences

Sam Farmer’s pick: The Chargers are stacking wins and gaining confidence, having scored a season-high 27 in consecutive weeks.

From Los Angeles Times

She spent quality time with her grandma who lives in China, brushed up her skills on the piano and read a stack of books.

From BBC

Those who do stand up to him have the deck stacked against them in this corporate environment.

From Salon

This is around the time of year the 49ers really fire their engines and start stacking wins.

From Los Angeles Times

Other singers from the Master Chorale later joined in and “laid the bricks of a cathedral one at a time,” Gershon said, “layering and combining and building and stacking and removing.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• heap
• load
• pile
• stockpile