pile
/pail/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A heap or stack of things: A quantity of objects placed one on top of another.
- A large amount of something: A great quantity or number.
- A large sum of money: A substantial amount of wealth or profit.
- A supporting column: A long, heavy post driven into the ground to support a structure.
- A surface texture: The raised, often soft, surface of fabrics like velvet or carpet, consisting of cut loops or strands.
- A nuclear reactor: (Informal/Historical) A structure containing nuclear material for controlled fission.
- A battery: (Historical) An early type of electric battery consisting of cells in series.
Verb:
- To place in a heap: To put things one on top of another to form a stack.
- To accumulate or amass: To gather or collect a large quantity of something.
- To crowd or pack tightly: To fill or occupy a space densely with people or things.
Examples
Noun:
- She sorted the laundry into a neat pile on the bed.
- He has a pile of work to finish by Friday.
- They made a pile from selling their company.
- The bridge's foundations are built on concrete piles.
- The carpet has a thick, soft pile that feels great underfoot.
Verb:
- Please pile the logs by the fireplace.
- He managed to pile up a fortune through wise investments.
- Fans piled into the stadium hours before the concert.
Advanced Usage
- "To pile on": To add more of something, often excessively or for dramatic effect.
- The critics piled on after the team's third consecutive loss.
- "To pile up": To accumulate, often to an excessive degree.
- The evidence against him began to pile up.
- "To make a pile": To earn a large amount of money.
- He made a pile in the tech industry during the boom.
Variants and Related Words
- Piling (n): A heavy beam or column driven into the ground for support.
- Piled (adj): Having a pile or nap, as in fabric (e.g., ).
- Piles (n, plural): A common term for hemorrhoids.
Synonyms
- Noun (Heap): Stack, mound, mountain, mass.
- Verb (Accumulate): Amass, gather, hoard, stack.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Pile in/into: To enter a vehicle or place quickly and in large numbers.
- We all piled into the car and drove off.
- Pile out: To exit a vehicle or place quickly and in large numbers.
- The children piled out of the school bus.
- Pile on the agony/gloom: To exaggerate the unpleasant aspects of a situation.
- The documentary really piled on the agony about the economic crisis.
Related Idioms
- At the bottom/top of the pile: In the least/most powerful or favorable position.
- New employees often start at the bottom of the pile.
- Money to burn / A pile of money: A very large amount of money to spend freely.
- After the deal, he had money to burn.
Noun
- a nuclear reactor that uses controlled nuclear fission to generate energy
- the yarn (as in a rug or velvet or corduroy) that stands up from the weave
- for uniform color and texture tailors cut velvet with the pile running the same direction
- a column of wood or steel or concrete that is driven into the ground to provide support for a structure
- battery consisting of voltaic cells arranged in series; the earliest electric battery devised by Volta
- fine soft dense hair (as the fine short hair of cattle or deer or the wool of sheep or the undercoat of certain dogs)
- a large sum of money (especially as pay or profit)
- she made a bundle selling real estate
- they sank megabucks into their new house
- (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent
- a batch of letters
- a deal of trouble
- a lot of money
- he made a mint on the stock market
- see the rest of the winners in our huge passel of photos
- it must have cost plenty
- a slew of journalists
- a wad of money
- a collection of objects laid on top of each other
Verb
- place or lay as if in a pile
- The teacher piled work on the students until the parents protested
- press tightly together or cram
- The crowd packed the auditorium
- arrange in stacks
- heap firewood around the fireplace
- stack your books up on the shelves