The difference between Heap and Pile

When used as nouns, heap means a crowd, whereas pile means a mass of things heaped together.

When used as verbs, heap means to pile in a heap, whereas pile means to lay or throw into a pile or heap.

Heap is also adverb with the meaning: very.

check bellow for the other definitions of Heap and Pile

  1. Heap as a noun:

    A crowd; a throng; a multitude or great number of people.

  2. Heap as a noun:

    A pile or mass; a collection of things laid in a body, or thrown together so as to form an elevation.

    Examples:

    "a heap of earth or stones"

  3. Heap as a noun:

    A great number or large quantity of things.

  4. Heap as a noun (computing):

    A data structure consisting of trees in which each node is greater than all its children.

  5. Heap as a noun (computing):

    Memory that is dynamically allocated.

    Examples:

    "You should move these structures from the stack to the heap to avoid a potential stack overflow."

  6. Heap as a noun (colloquial):

    A dilapidated place or vehicle.

    Examples:

    "My first car was an old heap."

  7. Heap as a noun (colloquial):

    A lot, a large amount

    Examples:

    "Thanks a heap!"

  1. Heap as a verb (transitive):

    To pile in a heap.

    Examples:

    "He heaped the laundry upon the bed and began folding."

  2. Heap as a verb (transitive):

    To form or round into a heap, as in measuring.

  3. Heap as a verb (transitive):

    To supply in great quantity.

    Examples:

    "They heaped praise upon their newest hero."

  1. Heap as an adverb (representing broken English stereotypically or comically attributed to Native Americans; may be offensive):

    Very.

  1. Pile as a noun:

    A mass of things heaped together; a heap.

  2. Pile as a noun (figuratively, informal):

    A group or list of related items up for consideration, especially in some kind of selection process.

    Examples:

    "When we were looking for a new housemate, we put the nice woman on the "maybe" pile, and the annoying guy on the "no" pile."

  3. Pile as a noun:

    A mass formed in layers.

    Examples:

    "a pile of shot"

  4. Pile as a noun:

    A funeral pile; a pyre.

    Examples:

    "rfquotek Dryden"

  5. Pile as a noun:

    A large building, or mass of buildings.

  6. Pile as a noun:

    A bundle of pieces of wrought iron to be worked over into bars or other shapes by rolling or hammering at a welding heat; a fagot.

  7. Pile as a noun:

    A vertical series of alternate disks of two dissimilar metals (especially copper and zinc), laid up with disks of cloth or paper moistened with acid water between them, for producing a current of electricity; a voltaic pile, or galvanic pile.

  8. Pile as a noun:

    An atomic pile; an early form of nuclear reactor.

  9. Pile as a noun (obsolete):

    The reverse (or tails) of a coin.

  10. Pile as a noun (figuratively):

    A list or league

  1. Pile as a verb (transitive, often used with the preposition "up"):

    To lay or throw into a pile or heap; to heap up; to collect into a mass; to accumulate

    Examples:

    "They were piling up wood on the wheelbarrow."

  2. Pile as a verb (transitive):

    To cover with heaps; or in great abundance; to fill or overfill; to load.

    Examples:

    "We piled the camel with our loads."

  3. Pile as a verb (transitive):

    To add something to a great number.

  4. Pile as a verb (transitive):

    (of vehicles) To create a hold-up.

  5. Pile as a verb (transitive, military):

    To place (guns, muskets, etc.) together in threes so that they can stand upright, supporting each other.

  1. Pile as a noun (obsolete):

    A dart; an arrow.

  2. Pile as a noun:

    The head of an arrow or spear.

  3. Pile as a noun:

    A large stake, or piece of pointed timber, steel etc., driven into the earth or sea-bed for the support of a building, a pier, or other superstructure, or to form a cofferdam, etc.

  4. Pile as a noun (heraldiccharge):

    One of the ordinaries or subordinaries having the form of a wedge, usually placed palewise, with the broadest end uppermost.

  1. Pile as a verb (transitive):

    To drive piles into; to fill with piles; to strengthen with piles.

  1. Pile as a noun (usually in plural):

    A hemorrhoid.

  1. Pile as a noun:

    Hair, especially when very fine or short; the fine underfur of certain animals. (Formerly countable, now treated as a collective singular.)

  2. Pile as a noun:

    The raised hairs, loops or strands of a fabric; the nap of a cloth.

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