PILES Synonyms: 260 Similar and Opposite Words

piles 1 of 3

noun (1)

plural of pile

as in stacks

a quantity of things thrown or stacked on one another a large pile of newspapers that needed to be disposed of

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in loads

a considerable amount a job that paid piles of money

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

piles

2 of 3

noun (2)

plural of pile

as in furs

a soft airy substance or covering the lush pile of the carpeting

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as in wools

the hairy covering of a mammal especially when fine, soft, and thick a dog with such a dense pile that he never minded the cold

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piles

3 of 3

verb

present tense third-person singular of pile

as in heaps

to lay or throw on top of one another piled all the clothes on the chair before putting them away

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

unpiles

as in huddles

to gather into a closely packed group the kids piled into the car

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of piles

Noun

Glossy tomatoes on the vine, a wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano (party favors), piles of lemons, platters of antipasti, and dishes arriving from friends’ kitchens bring more life and color to a room than anything overly decorative ever could. — Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026 Their charred carcasses litter the steep lanes leading to the villages, while the houses have been reduced to nothing more than piles of smoking ashes. — ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026 Along the banks of the Trishuli River, a priest placed straw effigies representing the missing family members and covered them with small piles of wood before setting them alight. — Shristi Kafle, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026 Its non-towable structure means that it is transported to the site by truck and can then be installed on permanent concrete foundations or screw piles. — New Atlas, 2 Sep. 2026 The government still has not come up with a solution to the mountainous piles of rotting garbage that accumulate on the streets for months. — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026 Users who stacked up more metal discs to make more powerful piles found the weight of the discs squeezed out the moisture in the paper or cloth. — IEEE Spectrum, 31 Aug. 2026 Cole went online, bought Steiffs by the piles, and lined the shelves of King’s bedroom. — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 Dolly Parton's mass appeal, which transcends cultural, political and generational lines, is so intriguing that piles of books, essays, podcasts, TV shows and other media aim to get to the bottom of it. — Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 27 Aug. 2026

Verb

Once a week, Hall piles his three kids in the car, drives five minutes to Costco and turns into the second row of the parking lot. — Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 30 July 2026 According to relationship experts at The Gottman Institute, couples who talk through those details in advance tend to adjust more smoothly and argue less about the small stuff that piles up after move-in day. — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 29 July 2026 Instead of asking whether existing programs are delivering results, Congress piles new spending and new funding streams onto an already fragmented system. — Andy Harris, Baltimore Sun, 4 July 2026 The dirty laundry never piles up, nor does the ready-to-fold pile. — Tessa Cooper, The Spruce, 30 June 2026 More specifically — and without spoiling a story that piles the twists as high as the corpses — Pine's an ex-British soldier pulled from his porter duties and recruited to surveil a ruthless arms dealer, Richard Roper (Hugh Laurie) staying at the hotel. — Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Apr. 2026 The result piles more pressure on Starmer, the least popular prime minister since records began, according to some polls. — Alexander Smith, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026 But when snow piles up in powdery white masses, Arizonans can't resist the opportunity to play in it. — Michael Salerno, AZCentral.com, 19 Feb. 2026 His intervention piles fresh pressure on the prime minister. — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 9 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for piles

Noun

The fall 2026 campaign, shot by photographer Matt Easton, depicts Hilton next to stacks of retro TV sets broadcasting Not-Karl wearing a dark suit, tie and white shirt with a high collar.

— Miles Socha, Footwear News, 1 Sep. 2026
To the left, brown boxes and pallets lie in stacks where the youth services section will end up eventually.

— Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of stacks

Noun

Instead, Hongqi said the solar roof could help supply lower-voltage electrical loads, including air conditioning, refrigerators and the vehicle’s sentry or monitoring systems.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
Together, Jaybush, Brad Chambers, and the American Heavy Moving team figured out a route through the city that avoided street trees, tight turns, and roads that run above old, fragile sewer pipes, which aren’t rated for heavy loads.

— Nicola Twilley, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of loads

Noun

Chandeliers hang from sandstone ceilings while jewel-tone wallpaper, furs, and velvet warm things up.

— Julia Sayers Gokhale, Midwest Living, 9 Aug. 2026
In others, background actors adjust their chain mail and faux furs and clutch prop weapons, some of which are designed to explode and splatter blood on impact.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 13 July 2026

Definition of furs

Noun

Using luxurious cottons, silks, wools and linen to emphasize the simplicity and ease of wardrobe staples — T-shirts, shorts, sweatshirts, skirts, button-down shirts, pants and tunics — elevating their wearability for day and night.

— Tonya Blazio-Licorish, Footwear News, 4 Aug. 2026
Although the word cashmere is sometimes incorrectly applied to extremely soft wools, only the product of the cashmere goat is true cashmere.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 2026

Definition of wools

Verb

An engineer overhears a sales call where a partner is requesting a specific feature and immediately huddles with the salesperson once the line clicks shut.

— Vikram Joshi, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
The boiler is broken, so Kuhner huddles by a small space heater in his office in the winter.

— Emma Green, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026

Definition of huddles

Noun

The retailer’s massive shoe collection has tons of trip-ready styles, including water-resistant mules, best-selling sneakers, and flats designed for on-the-go wear.

— Kaitlin Gates, Travel + Leisure, 2 Sep. 2026
As that year’s freshman class president, Miles’ father, George, was instrumental in assembling some 600 freshmen to lug into place 300 tons of loose rock left over from the stadium excavation.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of tons

Noun

Turtlenecks, chunky knits and heavier coats can easily swallow up smaller pieces, while an oversized earring, substantial pendant or sculptural cuff can still hold its own.

— Casey DelBasso, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
Nearly 36 percent of evaluated items fell into the outerwear category encompassing coats, jackets and blazers.

— Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 27 Aug. 2026