pile

pile
pile1
/puyl/, n., v., piled, piling.
n.
1. an assemblage of things laid or lying one upon the other: a pile of papers; a pile of bricks.
2. Informal. a large number, quantity, or amount of anything: a pile of work.
3. a heap of wood on which a dead body, a living person, or a sacrifice is burned; pyre.
4. a lofty or large building or group of buildings: the noble pile of Windsor Castle.
5. Informal. a large accumulation of money: They made a pile on Wall Street.
6. a bundle of pieces of iron ready to be welded and drawn out into bars; fagot.
7. reactor (def. 4).
8. Elect. See voltaic pile.
v.t.
9. to lay or dispose in a pile (often fol. by up): to pile up the fallen autumn leaves.
10. to accumulate or store (often fol. by up): to pile up money; squirrels piling up nuts against the winter.
11. to cover or load with a pile: He piled the wagon with hay.
v.i.
12. to accumulate, as money, debts, evidence, etc. (usually fol. by up).
13. Informal. to move as a group in a more or less confused, disorderly cluster: to pile off a train.
14. to gather, accumulate, or rise in a pile or piles (often fol. by up): The snow is piling up on the roofs.
[1350-1400; ME < MF < L pila pillar, mole of stone]
Syn. 1. collection, heap, mass, accumulation, stack, mound, batch.
pile2
/puyl/, n., v., piled, piling.
n.
1. a cylindrical or flat member of wood, steel, concrete, etc., often tapered or pointed at the lower end, hammered vertically into soil to form part of a foundation or retaining wall.
2. Heraldry. an ordinary in the form of a wedge or triangle coming from one edge of the escutcheon, from the chief unless otherwise specified.
3. Archery. the sharp head or striking end of an arrow, usually of metal and of the form of a wedge or conical nub.
4. in pile, Heraldry. (of a number of charges) arranged in the manner of a pile.
v.t.
5. to furnish, strengthen, or support with piles.
6. to drive piles into.
[bef. 1000; ME; OE pil shaft < L pilum javelin]
pile3
/puyl/, n.
1. hair.
2. soft, fine hair or down.
3. wool, fur, or pelage.
4. a fabric with a surface of upright yarns, cut or looped, as corduroy, Turkish toweling, velvet, and velveteen.
5. such a surface.
6. one of the strands in such a surface.
[1300-50; ME piles hair, plumage < L pilus hair; -i- short in L but long in Anglicized school pronunciation]
pile4
/puyl/, n. Usually, piles.
1. a hemorrhoid.
2. the condition of having hemorrhoids.
[1375-1425; late ME pyles (pl.) < L pilae lit., balls. See PILL1]
pile5
/puyl/, n.
the lower of two dies for coining by hand.
[1350-1400; ME pyl reverse of a coin < ML pila, special use of L pila PILE1]

* * *

In building construction, a postlike foundation member used from prehistoric times.

Piles transfer building loads down to a suitable bearing stratum when the soil mass immediately below a construction is unsuitable for the direct bearing of footings (see foundation). Piles support loads either by bearing directly on rock or suitable soil or by developing friction along their very ample length. In modern civil engineering, piles of timber, steel, or concrete are driven into the ground to support a structure; bridge piers and building foundations may be supported on groups of piles.

* * *

      in building construction, a postlike foundation member used from prehistoric times. In modern civil engineering, piles of timber, steel, or concrete are driven into the ground to support a structure; bridge piers may be supported on groups of large-diameter piles. On unstable soils, piles are indispensable building supports and may also be used on stable ground when exceptionally large structural loads are involved. Piles are driven into the ground by pile drivers, machines consisting usually of a high frame with appliances for raising and dropping a pile hammer or for supporting and guiding a stream or air hammer.

▪ textiles
      in textiles, the surface of a cloth composed of an infinite number of loops of warp threads, or else of an infinite number of free ends of either warp or of weft, or filling, threads that stand erect from the foundation or ground structure of the cloth. In looped pile the loops are uncut; in cut pile the same or similar loops are cut, either in the loom during weaving or by a special machine after the cloth leaves the loom.

       velvet is a short-pile fabric and plush a long-pile fabric, both of which have pile formed by warp threads. velveteen is fabric with pile formed of filling threads that have been cut.

      Among the loop-pile fabrics are Brussels tapestry, imitation Brussels carpeting, and Moquettes. In some cases the surfaces of carpets, such as Wilton and Axminster (Axminster carpet), are formed of cut pile; in others, both looped and cut pile appear on the surface of the same fabric. Imitation seal and other furs are pile fabrics. The surfaces of pile fabrics may have decorative designs appearing in both kinds of pile and in several colours.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

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  • pile — pile …   Dictionnaire des rimes

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  • pile — 1. (pi l ) s. f. 1°   Amas de choses placées les unes sur les autres. •   Leurs débris sont couverts d une pile de morts, MAIRET Mort d Asdrub. I, 3. •   Ils [la famille de M. le Prince] eurent tant de peur qu on ne s excusât faute de manteaux,… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Pile — Pile, n. [F. pile, L. pila a pillar, a pier or mole of stone. Cf. {Pillar}.] 1. A mass of things heaped together; a heap; as, a pile of stones; a pile of wood. [1913 Webster] 2. A mass formed in layers; as, a pile of shot. [1913 Webster] 3. A… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pile — Pile, n. [AS. p[=i]l arrow, stake, L. pilum javelin; but cf. also L. pila pillar.] 1. A large stake, or piece of timber, pointed and driven into the earth, as at the bottom of a river, or in a harbor where the ground is soft, for the support of a …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pile — may refer to:*Pile foundation, type of deep foundation *Pile (textile), fabric with raised surface made of upright loops or strands of yarn ** Carpet pile * Nuclear pile, early term for a nuclear reactor, typically one constructed of graphite *… …   Wikipedia

  • Pile — ist der Name mehrerer Personen: Frederick Alfred Pile (1884–1976), britischer General im zweiten Weltkrieg William Anderson Pile (1829–1889), US amerikanischer General und Politiker Pile bezeichnet außerdem: Chicago Pile, den ersten Kernreaktor… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • pile — Ⅰ. pile UK US /paɪl/ noun [C] ► a large amount of something: »a pile of cash/money »consumers with piles of credit card debt » I have piles of paperwork to finish. ● at the bottom/top of the pile Cf. at the top of the pile → See also …   Financial and business terms

  • pile — Ⅰ. pile [1] ► NOUN 1) a heap of things laid or lying one on top of another. 2) informal a large amount. 3) a large imposing building. ► VERB 1) place (things) one on top of the other. 2) ( …   English terms dictionary

  • pile on — ● pile * * * pile on [phrasal verb] 1 pile on (something) : to put a large amount of (something) on something or someone He piled on the gravy. The teacher punished the class by piling on more work. [=the teacher punished the class by giving them …   Useful english dictionary

  • Pile — Pile, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Piled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Piling}.] 1. To lay or throw into a pile or heap; to heap up; to collect into a mass; to accumulate; to amass; often with up; as, to pile up wood. Hills piled on hills. Dryden. Life piled on… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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