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Pile   /paɪl/   Listen
noun
Pile  n.  
1.
A hair; hence, the fiber of wool, cotton, and the like; also, the nap when thick or heavy, as of carpeting and velvet. "Velvet soft, or plush with shaggy pile."
2.
(Zool.) A covering of hair or fur.


Pile  n.  The head of an arrow or spear. (Obs.)


Pile  n.  
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 building, a pier, or other superstructure, or to form a cofferdam, etc. Note: Tubular iron piles are now much used.
2.
(Her.) One of the ordinaries or subordinaries having the form of a wedge, usually placed palewise, with the broadest end uppermost.
Pile bridge, a bridge of which the roadway is supported on piles.
Pile cap, a beam resting upon and connecting the heads of piles.
Pile driver, or Pile engine, an apparatus for driving down piles, consisting usually of a high frame, with suitable appliances for raising to a height (by animal or steam power, the explosion of gunpowder, etc.) a heavy mass of iron, which falls upon the pile.
Pile dwelling. See Lake dwelling, under Lake.
Pile plank (Hydraul. Eng.), a thick plank used as a pile in sheet piling. See Sheet piling, under Piling.
Pneumatic pile. See under Pneumatic.
Screw pile, one with a screw at the lower end, and sunk by rotation aided by pressure.


Pile  n.  
1.
A mass of things heaped together; a heap; as, a pile of stones; a pile of wood.
2.
A mass formed in layers; as, a pile of shot.
3.
A funeral pile; a pyre.
4.
A large building, or mass of buildings. "The pile o'erlooked the town and drew the fight."
5.
(Iron Manuf.) Same as Fagot, n., 2.
6.
(Elec.) A vertical series of alternate disks of two dissimilar metals, as copper and zinc, laid up with disks of cloth or paper moistened with acid water between them, for producing a current of electricity; commonly called Volta's pile, voltaic pile, or galvanic pile. Note: The term is sometimes applied to other forms of apparatus designed to produce a current of electricity, or as synonymous with battery; as, for instance, to an apparatus for generating a current of electricity by the action of heat, usually called a thermopile.
7.
The reverse of a coin. See Reverse.
Cross and pile. See under Cross.
Dry pile. See under Dry.


verb
Pile  v. t.  To drive piles into; to fill with piles; to strengthen with piles.
To sheet-pile, to make sheet piling in or around. See Sheet piling, under 2nd Piling.


Pile  v. t.  (past & past part. piled; pres. part. 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." "Life piled on life." "The labor of an age in piled stones."
2.
To cover with heaps; or in great abundance; to fill or overfill; to load.
To pile arms To pile muskets (Mil.), to place three guns together so that they may stand upright, supporting each other; to stack arms.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Pile" Quotes from Famous Books



... progresses, until at last all the peltries and provisions have changed hands, and there is nothing more to be traded; but some times things do not run quite so smoothly. Sometimes, when the stock of pemmican or robes is small, the braves object to see their "pile" go for a little parcel of tea or sugar. The steelyard and weighing-balance are their especial objects of dislike. "What for you put on one side tea or sugar, and on the other a little bit of iron?" they say; "we don't know what that medicine ...
— The Great Lone Land - A Narrative of Travel and Adventure in the North-West of America • W. F. Butler
... invitation of the voluptuous little settee with its pile of cushions. He stood instead upon the hearth rug, gazing around him. The room, in its way, was a revelation. Josephine, ever since their first meeting at Etaples, had always seemed to him to carry with her a faint suggestion of sadness, ...
— The Profiteers • E. Phillips Oppenheim
... two rooms, the larger reserved for the bed, the smaller for kitchen, and in both rags of every variety. In the corner is a heap chiefly of silk, wool, and linen. This is the pile from which rent is to come, and every precious bit goes to it, since rent here is paid in advance,—three francs a week for the hut alone, and twenty francs a month if a scrap of court is added in which the rags can be sorted. On a fixed ...
— Prisoners of Poverty Abroad • Helen Campbell
... housekeeper, who comes out in a miraculous brown silk gown, to shew it to visitors. On other days, you'll find Mrs. Crutch quite civil and useful;—but on Wednesdays, she is majestic. Charles always goes off among his sheep on that day, and I shut myself up with a pile of books in a little room. You will have to be imprisoned with me. I do so long to peep at ...
— He Knew He Was Right • Anthony Trollope
... new pile of papers, appeared also with a message. A lady, recommended by Mrs. Karnegie, of the Sheep's Head, wished to consult Mr. Camp professionally. Mr. Camp looked at his watch, counting out precious time before him, in a little stand on the table, and said, "Show ...
— Man and Wife • Wilkie Collins


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