heap up

heap up

1. To collect or gather in a pile. Used tissues heaped up next to my bed while I was sick. How can you find anything when you have all that junk heaped up on your desk? There are always toys heaped up on the playroom floor, no matter what time of day it is.

2. To gather or form something into a pile. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "heap" and "up." Heap the dirt up, and I'll come sweep it into the dust pan. Heap up all the clothes you want to donate, and then I'll put them in trash bags. I finally heaped up all the books I have to take back to the library, and it's not as many as I thought, thank goodness.

3. To accumulate, especially in a way that is burdensome or undesirable. Things were going smoothly at first, but issues are really starting to heap up lately. Of course the calls heaped up—the phone was practically ringing off the hook all day! You wouldn't believe how the reading heaps up when you're sick and miss two weeks of classes!

See also: heap, up

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

heap something up

to make something into a pile. He heaped the mashed potatoes up on my plate, because he thought I wanted lots. Heap up the leaves in the corner of the yard.

See also: heap, up

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

heap up

v.

1. To pile something up: I heaped up the dirty clothes in the corner of my room. The floodwaters heaped debris up onto the beach.

2. To accumulate: Garbage heaped up in the streets.

See also: heap, up

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.