pile up

pile something up 

1. to crash or wreck something. Drive carefully if you don't want to pile the car up. The driver piled up the car against a tree.

2. to make something into a heap. Carl piled all the leaves up and set them afire. Please pile up the leaves.

See also: pile, up

pile up 

1. Lit. [for things] to gather or accumulate. The newspapers began to pile up after a few days. Work is really piling up around here.

2. Fig. [for a number of vehicles] to crash together. Nearly twenty cars piled up on the bridge this morning.

See also: pile, up

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pile up something also pile something up

to increase something Many civilians were killed - the evidence continues to pile up. The company piled up hundreds of millions of dollars of losses over the last year.

Usage notes: usually used in passive forms: Earnings began piling up from the sale of the new switches.

See also: pile, up