pileup

noun

pile·​up ˈpī(-ə)l-ˌəp 

1

: a collision involving usually several motor vehicles

2

a

: a jammed tangled mass or pile (as of motor vehicles or people) resulting from collision or accumulation

b

: accumulation

Synonyms

• accretion
• accumulation
• assemblage
• collection
• cumulation
• cumulus
• gathering
• lodgment
• lodgement

Examples of pileup in a Sentence

A five-car pileup slowed traffic.

a pileup of e-mail messages that needed to be dealt with

Recent Examples on the Web

There were reports of injuries amid the pileup, and first responders were going car to car to check on people, some of whom were stuck in their vehicles. —Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 14 Feb. 2025

More than 100 vehicles were involved in a massive pileup on a snowy interstate near Portland, Oregon, as officials in the state's largest city and neighboring Idaho opened emergency shelters in preparation for the winter storm. —Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025

Multiple cars have been involved in a pileup on an Oregon highway. —Gabrielle Rockson, People.com, 14 Feb. 2025

Law enforcement said Wesley unsuccessfully tried to steal another person’s car during the pileup but got away by hitching a ride on the outside of a tractor-trailer. —Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 12 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined at sense 1