pile up
pile up — phrasal verb
- pile upbase form
- piles up3rd person singular
- piling up-ing form
- piled uppast simple
1. when things such as work, bills, problems, or objects increase in amount, number
when things such as work, bills, problems, or objects increase in amount, number, or quantity and form a large collection that needs to be dealt with — for example, unanswered emails piling up during a holiday, or dirty dishes collecting in a kitchen sink.
While Yael was in hospital, her assignments piled up on her desk.
If David does not wash the dishes each night, they pile up in the sink.
intransitive: dishes / work / laundry pile up
The cost of all the small repairs began to pile up and soon worried Antonia.
Walid let his laundry pile up for weeks and then had no clean socks.
Problems piled up at the factory after three key workers left at the same time.
- accumulate
more formal; suggests a gradual increase over time
- build up
similar meaning but emphasises the growth process
- mount up
less common; implies a steady climb in quantity
- stack up
more literal, often about physical objects
文法句型
things pile up
pile something up
用法筆記
Intransitive use (things pile up) is more common: the subject is the thing that accumulates. Transitive use (pile something up) is also possible but less frequent; the object is the things being gathered into a heap. Distinguish from 'pile on', which means to add more of something (especially criticism or pressure).