pile up

s’accumuler, accumuler

Devenir de plus en plus nombreux, souvent faute de traitement, ou en réunir une quantité croissante.

En anglais simple : To increase in number or amount, often because things are not being dealt with.

• My bills are piling up.
• Emails piled up while I was away.
• Do not let unfinished tasks pile up.

Synonymes : accumulate, build up, mount up

Expressions courantes : pile up quickly, pile up debts, pile up again

empiler, s’entasser

Mettre des choses les unes sur les autres, ou se rassembler en tas.

En anglais simple : To put things on top of each other, or collect into a heap.

• Pile up the plates here.
• Snow piled up against the wall.
• They piled their coats up on a chair.

Comment l'utiliser : pile something up somewhere (We piled the boxes up beside the door.)

Synonymes : heap up, stack up

Expressions courantes : pile up books, pile something up, pile up outside

se percuter, avoir un accident

Avoir un accident avec un véhicule, notamment lorsque plusieurs véhicules se percutent.

En anglais simple : To crash a vehicle, especially when several vehicles hit one another.

• Three cars piled up in the fog.
• Several trucks piled up on the icy road.
• Vehicles began piling up behind the first crash.

Synonymes : crash, collide

Expressions courantes : pile up here, pile up behind, pile up again