piles
piles Lexical Profile
piles Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Plural form of pile: a number of things lying on top of one another in a heap or stack.
"She sorted the old magazines into neat piles on the living room floor."
A very large quantity or amount of something (often followed by 'of').
"The students still had piles of homework to finish before the holiday break."
Swollen and inflamed veins in the rectum and anus that cause discomfort and bleeding; hemorrhoids.
"A diet rich in fiber and adequate hydration can help prevent and relieve the symptoms of piles."
Plural form of pile: heavy stakes or posts of timber, steel, or concrete driven into the ground to support foundations or bridges.
"The coastal houses were built on deep wooden piles to protect them from seasonal flooding."
• verb
To place or lay things on top of one another in a heap or stack (third-person singular simple present of pile).
"Every autumn, he piles the fallen leaves in the corner of the garden to make compost."
To move or crowd into or out of a place or vehicle in a disorderly group (third-person singular simple present of pile).
"The entire team piles into the minibus after every away match."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The medical sense of 'piles' derives from Middle English, from Medieval Latin 'pila' meaning 'ball' (in reference to the rounded swellings). The senses of 'heaps' and 'support pillars' come via Old French from Latin 'pila' meaning 'pillar or pier' and 'pilum' meaning 'heavy javelin'.