noun

1. a mass of things heaped together; heap
2. a heap of wood or other combustible material on which a corpse or sacrifice is burned
3. a large building or group of buildings
4. Informal
   1. a large amount or number
   2. ☆ a lot of money; fortune
5. Elec. a voltaic pile or any other similar device that produces an electric current; battery
6. ☆ nuclear reactor

Etymology: ME < MFr < L pila, pillar

transitive verb piled, piling pil′·ing

1. to put or set in a pile; heap up
2. to cover with a pile; load
3. to accumulate
4. to crash, wreck, etc.

intransitive verb

1. to form a pile or heap
2. to move in a mass; crowd: with in, into, out, on, off, etc.
3. to crash (into)

noun

1. a soft, velvety, raised surface on a rug, fabric, etc., produced by making yarn loops on the body of the material and, often, shearing them
2. soft, fine hair, as on wool, fur, etc.

Etymology: ME pile, bird's down < L pilus, hair < IE base *pilo- > L pila, ball, Gr pilos, felt

noun

1. a long, heavy timber or beam driven into the ground, sometimes under water, to support a bridge, dock, etc.
2. any similar supporting member, as of concrete
3. Heraldry a wedge-shaped bearing with the point usually downward

Etymology: ME pil < OE, akin to Ger pfeil < WGmc borrowing < L pilum, javelin

transitive verb piled, piling pil′·ing

1. to drive piles into
2. to support or strengthen with piles