Library / English Dictionary

PILE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A nuclear reactor that uses controlled nuclear fission to generate energy

Synonyms:

atomic pile; atomic reactor; chain reactor; pile

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pile" is a kind of...):

nuclear reactor; reactor ((physics) any of several kinds of apparatus that maintain and control a nuclear reaction for the production of energy or artificial elements)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The yarn (as in a rug or velvet or corduroy) that stands up from the weave

Example:

for uniform color and texture tailors cut velvet with the pile running the same direction

Synonyms:

nap; pile

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pile" is a kind of...):

thread; yarn (a fine cord of twisted fibers (of cotton or silk or wool or nylon etc.) used in sewing and weaving)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A column of wood or steel or concrete that is driven into the ground to provide support for a structure

Synonyms:

pile; piling; spile; stilt

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pile" is a kind of...):

column; pillar ((architecture) a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright and used to support a structure)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pile"):

sheath pile; sheet pile; sheet piling (a pile in a row of piles driven side by side to retain earth or prevent seepage)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Battery consisting of voltaic cells arranged in series; the earliest electric battery devised by Volta

Synonyms:

galvanic pile; pile; voltaic pile

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pile" is a kind of...):

battery; electric battery (a device that produces electricity; may have several primary or secondary cells arranged in parallel or series)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Fine soft dense hair (as the fine short hair of cattle or deer or the wool of sheep or the undercoat of certain dogs)

Synonyms:

down; pile

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("pile" is a kind of...):

hair (a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pile"):

lanugo (the fine downy hair covering a human fetus; normally shed during the ninth month of gestation)

Derivation:

pilary; pilous (covered with hairs especially fine soft ones)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A collection of objects laid on top of each other

Synonyms:

agglomerate; cumulation; cumulus; heap; mound; pile

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("pile" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pile"):

compost heap; compost pile (a heap of manure and vegetation and other organic residues that are decaying to become compost)

dunghill; midden; muckheap; muckhill (a heap of dung or refuse)

scrapheap (pile of discarded metal)

shock (a pile of sheaves of grain set on end in a field to dry; stalks of Indian corn set up in a field)

slagheap (pile of waste matter from coal mining etc)

stack (an orderly pile)

funeral pyre; pyre (wood heaped for burning a dead body as a funeral rite)

woodpile (a pile or stack of wood to be used for fuel)

stockpile (a storage pile accumulated for future use)

Derivation:

pile (place or lay as if in a pile)

pile (arrange in stacks)

pile (press tightly together or cram)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A large sum of money (especially as pay or profit)

Example:

they sank megabucks into their new house

Synonyms:

big bucks; big money; bundle; megabucks; pile

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("pile" is a kind of...):

money (wealth reckoned in terms of money)

Domain usage:

argot; cant; jargon; lingo; patois; slang; vernacular (a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves))

Sense 8

Meaning:

(often followed by 'of') a large number or amount or extent

Example:

a wad of money

Synonyms:

batch; deal; flock; good deal; great deal; hatful; heap; lot; mass; mess; mickle; mint; mountain; muckle; passel; peck; pile; plenty; pot; quite a little; raft; sight; slew; spate; stack; tidy sum; wad

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("pile" is a kind of...):

large indefinite amount; large indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pile"):

deluge; flood; inundation; torrent (an overwhelming number or amount)

haymow (a mass of hay piled up in a barn for preservation)

Derivation:

pile (press tightly together or cram)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Place or lay as if in a pile

Example:

The teacher piled work on the students until the parents protested

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pile" is one way to...):

lay; place; pose; position; put; set (put into a certain place or abstract location)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

pile (a collection of objects laid on top of each other)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Arrange in stacks

Example:

stack your books up on the shelves

Synonyms:

heap; pile; stack

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pile" is one way to...):

arrange; set up (put into a proper or systematic order)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pile"):

rick (pile in ricks)

cord (stack in cords)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something PP

Sentence example:

They pile their rifles on the cabinet

Also:

pile up (arrange into piles or stacks)

Derivation:

pile (a collection of objects laid on top of each other)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Press tightly together or cram

Example:

The crowd packed the auditorium

Synonyms:

jam; mob; pack; pile; throng

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "pile" is one way to...):

crowd; crowd together (to gather together in large numbers)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

pile (a collection of objects laid on top of each other)

pile ((often followed by 'of') a large number or amount or extent)

Credits

 Context examples: 

They pile them against the walls and set them in a blaze.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I foresaw the difficulty of arousing him, so I gathered some gravel from the pile which you have mentioned, and I used it to throw up to his window.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Typically, when a lake dries up entirely, it leaves piles of pure salt crystals behind.

(NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds an Ancient Oasis on Mars, NASA)

I remember, the first time that I did this, the young woman, when she opened the door in the morning, appeared greatly astonished on seeing a great pile of wood on the outside.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Gray and Ben Gunn came and went with the boat, while the rest during their absences piled treasure on the beach.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Jo thought what a blaze her pile of papers upstairs would make, and her hard-earned money lay rather heavily on her conscience at that minute.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

In front of them a porter pushes a trolley piled high with trunks, wraps, and gun-cases.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I approached the bed; I opened the curtains and leant over the high-piled pillows.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

There were slates and bricks piled up on the roof preparatory to some repairs, and they would have me believe that the wind had toppled over one of these.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

All the water going into the Earth at subduction zones must be coming back up somehow, not continuously piling up inside the Earth.

(Seismic study reveals huge amount of water dragged into Earth’s interior, National Science Foundation)