VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

piling in

verb·Everydayinformal

Last updated

UK/ˌpaɪlɪŋ ˈɪn/
US/ˌpaɪlɪŋ ˈɪn/

“piling in” is a form of “pile in”.

Meanings

  1. verbphrasal verbinformal

    Entering a place or vehicle in a crowded, disorganized way, all at once.

    Grammar: No object: they were piling in through the door.

    Patterns

    • pile in
    • pile into something

    The kids were piling in to the back of the car for the trip.

    Fans kept piling in until the stadium was full.

    Everyone started piling in as soon as the doors opened.

  2. verbphrasal verbinformal

    Joining a fight, argument or discussion eagerly and often without being invited.

    Grammar: No object: critics were piling in online.

    Patterns

    • pile in on something
    • pile in to do something

    As soon as the post went live, commenters were piling in with opinions.

    Two other players started piling in to help their teammate.

    Newspapers were piling in on the minister after the speech.

Word forms

base formpile in
third person singularpiles in
past tensepiled in
-ing formpiling in

Common combinations

piling in through the door
Commuters were piling in through the door.
keep piling in
Offers kept piling in after the announcement.
piling in on social media
Users were piling in on social media with jokes.
piling in together
We all piled in together and hoped the car would start.

Synonyms and how they differ

crowd in
Crowd in is more neutral, while pile in is more informal and suggests a messy rush.
pour in
Pour in suggests a steady stream of people or things, while pile in suggests a tight, jumbled crowd.
jump in
Jump in usually means to join an activity or conversation quickly, without the crowded image.

Opposites

pile out

Word family

pile noun
a heap of things
pile up verb
to accumulate into a heap
pile-up noun
a crash involving many vehicles
pile out verb
to leave a place in a crowded rush

Commonly confused: piling in or pile on?

piling in vs pile on

Pile on means to add more of something, usually criticism or work, and does not mean entering a space.

Practice

When the bus pulled up, the whole team started ______, pushing their bags ahead of them.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “piling in”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words