heap

heap¹ [hi:p] n

[: 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

BrE old-fashioned informal to be suddenly very surprised or confused

heap ²

heap² v [T]

1.) also heap up

to put a lot of things on top of each other in an untidy way

= ↑pile heap on

▪ Jean heaped logs on the fire.

2.) heap sth with sth

to put a lot of something on a surface

= ↑pile

▪ She gave him a glass of whisky and heaped his plate with food.

3.) heap praise/insults etc on sb

to praise, insult etc someone a lot

▪ He heaped all the blame on his secretary.