pile
pile1 definition
pile (pīl)
noun
- a mass of things heaped together; heap
- a heap of wood or other combustible material on which a corpse or sacrifice is burned
- a large building or group of buildings
- Informal
- a large amount or number
- ☆ a lot of money; fortune
- Elec. a voltaic pile or any other similar device that produces an electric current; battery
- ☆ nuclear reactor
Etymology: ME < MFr < L pila, pillar
transitive verb piled, piling pil′·ing
- to put or set in a pile; heap up
- to cover with a pile; load
- to accumulate
- to crash, wreck, etc.
intransitive verb
- to form a pile or heap
- to move in a mass; crowd: with in, into, out, on, off, etc.
- to crash (into)
pile2 definition
pile (pīl)
noun
- 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
- 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
Related Forms:
- piled adjective
pile3 definition
pile (pīl)
noun
- a long, heavy timber or beam driven into the ground, sometimes under water, to support a bridge, dock, etc.
- any similar supporting member, as of concrete
- Heraldry a wedge-shaped bearing with the point usually downward
Etymology: ME pil < OE, akin to Ger pfeil < WGmc borrowing < L pilum, javelin
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