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pile up

 [pahyl]   Origin

pile

1   [pahyl] noun, verb, piled, pil·ing.
noun
1.
an assemblage of things laid or lying one upon the other: a pile of papers; a pile of bricks.
2.
Informal. a large number, quantity, or amount of anything: a pile of work.
3.
a heap of wood on which a dead body, a living person, or a sacrifice is burned; pyre.
4.
a lofty or large building or group of buildings: the noble pile of Windsor Castle.
5.
Informal. a large accumulation of money: They made a pile on Wall Street.
EXPAND
6.
a bundle of pieces of iron ready to be welded and drawn out into bars; fagot.
7.
reactor (def. 4).
8.
Electricity. voltaic pile.
COLLAPSE
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verb (used with object)
9.
to lay or dispose in a pile (often followed by up): to pile up the fallen autumn leaves.
10.
to accumulate or store (often followed by up): to pile up money; squirrels piling up nuts against the winter.
11.
to cover or load with a pile: He piled the wagon with hay.

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Pile up is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object)
12.
to accumulate, as money, debts, evidence, etc. (usually followed by up).
13.
Informal. to move as a group in a more or less confused, disorderly cluster: to pile off a train.
14.
to gather, accumulate, or rise in a pile or piles (often followed by up): The snow is piling up on the roofs.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French < Latin pīla pillar, mole of stone

Synonyms
1. collection, heap, mass, accumulation, stack, mound, batch.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
pile up
 
—vb
1.  to gather or be gathered in a pile; accumulate
2.  informal to crash or cause to crash
 
—n
3.  informal a multiple collision of vehicles

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pile
"soft, raised surface upon cloth," mid-14c., from Anglo-Norm. pyle or M.Du. pijl, both from L. pilus "hair." Phonological evidence rules out transmission via O.Fr. cognate peil, poil.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

pile (pīl)
n.
A hemorrhoid.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary

pile definition


  1. n.
    a large amount of money. : That old lady has a pile stashed in the bank.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

pile up

  1. 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]

  2. Be involved in a crash, as in When the police arrived, at least four cars had piled up. [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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