I. heap 1 /hiːp/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ]
1 . a large untidy pile of things:
a rubbish heap
heap of
There was a heap of stones where the building used to be.
in a heap
The envelopes for posting lay in a heap on her desk.
We piled the branches into heaps for burning.
2 . heaps informal a lot of something
heaps of
The children have heaps of energy.
heaps better/bigger etc (=much better, bigger etc)
3 . fall/collapse etc in a heap to fall down and lie without moving:
They finally collapsed in a heap on the grass.
4 . humorous an old car that is in bad condition
5 . at the top/bottom of the heap high up and successful or low down and unsuccessful in an organization or in society:
The very poor are at the bottom of the heap.
6 . be struck all of a heap British English old-fashioned informal to be suddenly very surprised or confused
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ pile a group of things of the same type that are put on top of each other:
a huge pile of cardboard boxes
▪ stack a neat pile of things of the same type:
There were stacks of books on the floor.
▪ heap a large messy pile of things:
All his clothes were in a heap on the floor.
▪ mound a pile of something with a round shape:
a small mound of rice on the plate
▪ mountain a very large pile of something with a round shape:
a mountain of dirty laundry waiting to be washed
II. heap 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . ( also heap up ) to put a lot of things on top of each other in an untidy way SYN pile
heap on
Jean heaped logs on the fire.
2 . heap something with something to put a lot of something on a surface SYN pile :
She gave him a glass of whisky and heaped his plate with food.
3 . heap praise/insults etc on somebody to praise, insult etc someone a lot:
He heaped all the blame on his secretary.