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Glite Dictionary
to heap up

to heap up

1 2.5
Put things into a pile
  • phrasal verb
  • /hip ʌp/
translation icon : apilar
  • For the picnic, they heaped up all the blankets and food on the grass.

Examples

  • The soil heaped up around the hole was fresh and reddish, and the gravedigger stuck his spade into it and leaned on the handle.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • So why do, why do you think that there is regolith heaped up on top of these systems?

  • For the first time, Ruth noticed a pile of books heaped up.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • He took his time, heaping up a mound as big as he could manage.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Thousands of men lay dead and dying on the sloping field below the wall, and by dark the ones who could move had heaped up corpses to make shelter.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Turned away to heap up the fire with fresh wood until it was blazing and filling the space of this shelter, hut, or hovel with smoke.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • After cleaning, they heaped up the old newspapers in the corner of the room.

  • He spent the afternoon heaping up the leaves into large piles in the yard.

Synonyms

to pile
vsto heap up
255 1.2

To put things in a heap or stack

focuses more on arranging into orderly groups rather than crowded ones
to stack
vsto heap up
138 1.6

To put things in a neat pile one on top of another

is a broader action of grouping items into loose or ordered masses
to pile up
vsto heap up
83 3.1

To put things on top of each other until they make a heap

describes arranging things into groups now rather than gradual accumulation
to heap
vsto heap up
14 2.4

To put things into a pile

is more about arranging items into tighter, more organized groups
to stack up
vsto heap up
8 3.2

Put things in a neat pile, one on top of another

is the same action but can be less neat or orderly

Antonyms

to scatter
187 2.8

To spread small things like leaves or seeds over an area without order

How Much

to pile up
83 3.1
to heap up
1 2.5
to gather
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

heap up infinitive
heaped up past
heaped up past participle
heaping up present participle
heaps up third person singular

Morphology

heap + up

The meaning 'to arrange things into piles or stacks' is directly derivable from combining 'heap' (to pile or stack) with 'up' (indicating accumulation/completion); the particle 'up' reinforces the piling action rather than adding an unrelated idiomatic meaning. This verb+particle composition is common in English (e.g. 'pile up', 'stack up') and across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would very likely infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Heap up comes from the simple picture of making a tall pile: you gather items into a big heap and push them up into one stack. So heap up means 'to arrange things into piles'.