as in to accumulate
to gradually form into a layer, pile, or mass
snow piling up in the driveway at a rapid pace
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in accumulation
a mass or quantity that has piled up or that has been gathered over a period of time
a pileup of e-mail messages that needed to be dealt with
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pile (up)
Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 12 Dec. 2025
Less than 20 minutes after the first crash, on the other side of Glenwood Canyon, troopers responded to another pileup involving roughly 30 vehicles, according to the release.
—Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 30 Nov. 2025
The Indiana State Police said no serious injuries were reported following Saturday’s 45-car pileup of commercial and passenger vehicles on Interstate 70.
—Mirna Alsharif, NBC news, 30 Nov. 2025
What To Know The pileup on I-70 was first reported just after noon on Saturday, near the 15-mile marker close to Terre Haute.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pile (up)
Noun
An unusually large pileup of Second Amendment challenges has landed at the Supreme Court, which will consider taking up the cases behind closed doors Friday.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for pile (up)
Verb
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Rainwater tends to accumulate at the road edges.—
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Higher elevations from West Virginia through the border of North Carolina and Tennessee can expect accumulating snow.—
Noun
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That front could spark a few brief rain or snow showers Sunday afternoon or early evening, mainly north and west of Philadelphia, with little to no accumulation expected.—
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That would encourage new peat accumulation and carbon sequestration.—
Noun
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Cabello has served as head of Venezuela’s National Integrated Service of Customs and Tax Administration, giving him control over customs, ports and tax collection—key leverage points in an economy marked by sanctions, smuggling and corruption.—
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Auto-annotation tools label data during collection.—
Verb
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On Friday night, around 100 community members gathered on North Howard Street to pay respects to Renee Good while calling for justice.—
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Hundreds gathered near the Canopy Hotel, a Hilton property, Friday evening, according to a statement from the Minneapolis Police Department.—
Noun
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During the day, the birds lie motionless on the ground, blending into piles of leaves and tree stumps to hide from predators.—
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Each pepper is topped with a heaping pile of fontina cheese.—
Noun
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The result also spotlights conference championships’ awkward fit in the current system, particularly given the fact that conference expansion has led to jumbles atop each league’s standings.—
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Ray’s most chaotic photograms—jumbles that push out of the frame or look like time bombs ready to explode—find echoes in his films, projected on the back walls, a show in themselves.—
Noun
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These two ingredients mixed together creates a powerful mixture perfect for lifting stubborn stains off grout because of their high cleaning and brightening properties.—
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Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating after each addition until just combined.—
Noun
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The gathering of several hundred people reflected a who’s who of executives and leaders across the industry as well as longtime friends and family.—
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The gathering marks the royal family's first public reunion since King Charles formally stripped his younger brother, the former Prince Andrew, of his royal titles and ordered him to leave his Windsor home, Forest Lodge.—
Cite this Entry
“Pile (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pile%20%28up%29. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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