heap

Pronunciation

• enPR: hēp, IPA ^(key): /hiːp/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

Singular heap

Plural heaps

1. A heap is a big pile of things, usually thrown in the pile and not in any order.

   When we moved into our new house, the old owners had left a heap of garbage inside for us to deal with.

   I dumped all of my things into a heap on my bed so I could start organizing them.

2. (idiom) A heap is a lot of something.

   If that dog eats my shoes again, he will be in a heap of trouble.

   She earned heaps of money when she was 20 and now she doesn't have to work for the rest of her life.

Verb

Plain form heap

Third-person singular heaps

Past tense heaped

Past participle heaped

Present participle heaping

1. (transitive) If you heap something, you pile it up high.

   Pudding is my favorite dessert. I heaped it so high on my plate that it looked like a little mountain.

2. (transitive) If you heap something, you give a lot of it.

   The police heaped the children with praise after they would not get in a car with someone they did not know.

   Her boss surprised her by heaping the blame for the project onto her, when really, the problems were his own fault.