- an untidy pile of something
- heap (of something) The building was reduced to a heap of rubble.
- a compost heap
- in a heap His clothes lay in a heap on the floor.
- in heaps Worn-out car tyres were stacked in heaps.
Extra Examples- Papers were piled in great heaps on the desk.
- colliery spoil heaps
- The lava piles up into massive heaps.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- great
- large
- …
- be piled in
- collapse in
- fall down in
- …
- in a/the heap
- on a/the heap
- onto a/the heap
- …
- the bottom of the heap
- the top of the heap
- [usually plural] heap (of something) (informal) a lot of something
- There's heaps of time before the plane leaves.
- (North American English) I've got a heap of things to do.
- (informal, humorous) a car that is old and in bad condition
Word OriginOld English hēap (noun), hēapian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hoop and German Haufen.
Idioms
See heap in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryat the top/bottom of the heap
- high up/low down in the structure of an organization or a society
- These workers are at the bottom of the economic heap.
collapse, fall, etc. in a heap
- to fall down heavily and not move
- He collapsed in a heap on the floor.
heaps better, more, older, etc.
- (British English, informal) a lot better, etc.
- Help yourself—there's heaps more.
- He looks heaps better than when I last saw him.
Check pronunciation:
heap