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

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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

The smell of rotten eggs permeates communities where large piles of decaying sargassum emit ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. — ABC News, 31 July 2026 Content piles up faster than it can be classified or reused, and AI only accelerates that. — Benjamin Faes, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026 Video from Menasha obtained by CNN shows homes missing parts of roofs, structures stripped of their exteriors amid piles of debris, downed power poles and uprooted trees. — Dakota Smith, CNN Money, 27 July 2026 At the same time, the structure is also secured to the seabed by a total of eight foundation piles. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 July 2026 As the sea lion population piles up on the beach for the warmer months of pupping season, the city of San Diego has taken measures to keep humans away. — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 26 July 2026 Some of the rock piles created by the dredge boats are still visible today. — John Meyer, Denver Post, 26 July 2026 While baking soda is famously good at deodorizing smelly things, adding salt to compost piles can interrupt the composting process. — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 July 2026 Remove wood piles, brush, and weeds to discourage chipmunks from living on your property. — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 20 July 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 same concept applies to business AI tools that replace 'duct-tape’ stacks used by small businesses.

— TerDawn DeBoe, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
As vehicles age, OE on-board hardware becomes obsolete as cellular providers replace older technology and automakers stop investing in aging back-end stacks and features.

— Michael Harley, ArsTechnica, 21 July 2026

Definition of stacks

Noun

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
The attractive, mid-30s crowd seemed to be a mix of friends and couples donning beards, tattoos, red lips, and furs worn with sneakers.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 June 2026

Definition of furs

Noun

Han works with Japanese fabrics, Irish linens and Scottish wools to create simple, understated and versatile silhouettes, with everything made in small factories in London.

— Alex Wynne, Footwear News, 2 July 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

Over the years, mounds, pottery shards and other relics of Native American settlements that once dotted the swamp have been discovered.

— Drew Kann, AJC.com, 20 July 2026
In an effort to starve the Native Americans of the Great Plains, white settlers massacred many millions of North American buffalo between 1870 and 1890, piling the animals’ skulls into monstrous mounds reaching up to the sky.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026

Definition of mounds

Noun

Local favorites include 5 Tacos & Beers, which has fresh, housemade corn tortillas, tons of brews on tap, and a charming patio area for outdoor dining.

— Barbara Noe Kennedy, Travel + Leisure, 28 July 2026
The company said the vehicles will operate at gross weights between 32 and 42 tons and have daily ranges between 250 and 300 miles, which depend on route profile, load weight and operating conditions.

— Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 28 July 2026

Definition of tons

Noun

Videos from Xinhua show the knobby-kneed newborn resting on straw, being stroked and examined by scientists in white coats.

— Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 25 July 2026
With the advent of breed standards and clubs in the early 1900s, an official criteria for a proper Lab, such as otter tails, water resistant coats and wide skulls, became more concrete.

— Pat Mueller, USA Today, 24 July 2026

Definition of coats

Cite this Entry

Style

“Piles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piles. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of piles

noun (1)

noun (2)

verb

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