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heap definition

heap (hēp)

noun

  1. a pile, mass, or mound of things jumbled together
  2. Informal a great number or amount a heap of toys, heaps of money
  3. ☆ Slang an automobile, esp. an old, dilapidated one

Etymology: ME hepe, a troop, heap < OE heap, a troop, band, multitude, akin to Ger hauf(en), Du hoop < IE *keub- < base *keu-, bend, arch > hop, hive

transitive verb

  1. to make a heap of; bring together into a pile
  2. to give or supply in large amounts; load to heap gifts upon someone
  3. to fill (a plate, dry measure, etc.) full or to overflowing

intransitive verb

to accumulate or rise in a heap, or pile

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

heap Synonyms

heap

n.

pile, accumulation, mass, agglomeration, stack, load, collection, aggregation, stock, store, hoard, mountain, mound, abundance, profusion, bulk, fullness, volume, plenty, lump, total, sum, whole, huddle, mow, barrow, cartload, swell, harvest, hillock, deposit, carload, cargo, cock, wagonload, block, pyre, packet, jumble, pyramid, hill, cluster, confused mass, drift, bale, clump, shock, batch, bundle, bunch, gathering, amassment, acervation, concentration, haul*, junk pile*, full house*, lots*; see also quantity.

Antonyms handful, bit*, a few specks.


heap

v.

  1. To place in a heap

    pile, add, swell, bunch, lump, stack, rank, order, cord, bank, fill up, arrange, pile high, dike, hill, barricade, fill to overflowing, throw together, rake together, batch together, bunch together, draw together, fill up, pile up, heap up, mass, barrow, ruck, gather, dump, concentrate, mound, coacervate, deposit, dredge, group, throw in a heap, cast in a heap, gather in a heap, shock; see also load 1, pack 2.

    Antonyms scatter*, flatten*, level. *

  2. To amass

    gather, pile up, lay up, store; see accumulate 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

heap Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • rubble: Can they make building stones out of heaps of burnt rubble?

Object

  • tablespoon: Level teaspoon of dried mixed herbs or a heaped tablespoon of fresh chopped mixed herbs.

Adjective modifier

  • crumpled: They walk, the run, they fire guns, they fall to the floor in a crumpled heap.

Modifies a noun

  • leach: During the heap leach trial phase, the concerns of these communities were addressed on a continuous basis by EN officers.

Noun used with modifier

  • slag: The slag heaps or pit mounds of closed mines have been put to many new uses.
heap usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

heap quotes

   With aching hands and bleeding feet We dig and heap, lay stone on stone; We bear the burden and the heat Of the long day, and wish 'twere done. Not till the hours of light return, All we have built do we discern.

-Arnold, Matthew

We get richer and richer in filthier and filthier communities until we reach a final stage of affluent miseryöa crocus on a garbage heap.

-Gardner,JohnWilliam

Our style should be as a skein of silk, to be carried and found by the right thread, not ravelled and perplexed; then all is a knot, a heap.

-Jonson, Ben

heap quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"heap." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/heap>

APA Style

heap. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/heap

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