ENGLISH
REFERENCE

heap

n. · v. · adj.
US //ˈhip// UK //hˈiːp// heap
  1. 1 a pile (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    a messy pile of things lying on top of each other.

    a collection of objects or material arranged in an untidy pile or mass.

    Example

    He left a heap of dirty clothes on the floor after his football practice.

    Example

    The workers cleared a massive heap of rubble from the construction site before the new foundation could be poured.
  2. 2 a large amount (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    a lot of something, often used to describe a large quantity.

    an informal designation for a great number or large quantity of something.

    Example

    The new project has brought a heap of trouble for the management team.

    Example

    Despite the glowing reviews, the film faced a heap of criticism regarding its historical inaccuracies and pacing.
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  1. 3 an old car (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    a car or vehicle that is old, broken, and in very bad condition.

    a colloquial term for a dilapidated or unreliable vehicle or piece of machinery.

    Example

    I can't believe he still drives that old heap to work every day.

    Example

    The mechanic laughed when he saw the rusted heap I had towed into his garage for repairs.
  2. 4 computing memory (n.)
    C1 Advanced Technical Computing

    a part of a computer's memory used for storing data while a program is running.

    an area of memory used for dynamic allocation, where blocks are allocated and freed in an arbitrary order.

    Example

    The application crashed because it ran out of space on the heap.

    Example

    Efficient memory management is crucial when allocating large objects on the heap to avoid fragmentation and performance bottlenecks.
    • dynamic memory
  3. 5 to pile up (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to put things into a large pile.

    to arrange or throw things into a heap; often used figuratively with praise or criticism.

    Example

    She heaped more wood onto the fire to keep the room warm.

    Example

    The critics proceeded to heap praise upon the young actress for her nuanced performance in the independent drama.
  4. 6 very much (adj.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic Dialect

    a word used to mean 'very' or 'a lot', but it can be offensive to some people.

    an adverbial use meaning 'very' or 'much', often associated with stereotypical depictions of Native American speech.

    Example

    In the old movie, the character said he was heap big hungry.

    Example

    The script was criticized for its use of 'heap' as an intensifier, a linguistic trope that modern audiences find reductive and offensive.

    Usage

    This usage is largely confined to older literature or media and is now considered culturally insensitive.

    Teacher's tip

    This sense is highly dated and often considered offensive; learners should avoid using it in modern conversation.
Word family
Idioms1 entry

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