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# heap

«heap» in Mova's school dictionary: **a big untidy pile of things on top of each other** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (heap, heaps); verb (heap, heaps, heaped, heaping)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A heap is a big untidy pile of things on top of each other. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/#m1)

2) Heaps of something means a lot of it (informal, very common in Australia and New Zealand). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/#m2)

3) To heap is to put things in a pile, or to fill something with a lot, like a heaped spoon. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

A group of things counted or weighed; adding to or taking from a heap. In everyday life: a heap of laundry, a compost heap, a heaped teaspoon in a recipe. In stories: a heap of gold, a heap of leaves. Phrases: «a heap of», «heaps of», «heaps better», «in a heap».

### examples

- There is a heap of 40 stones. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/#x1)
- He moved 15 stones from the heap. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/#x2)
- Two heaps have 25 and 30 apples. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/#x3)
- She heaps 3 more spoons of sugar. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/#x4)
- My clothes were in a heap on the floor. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/#x5)
- We put the leaves on the compost heap. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/#x6)
- Thanks heaps for your help! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/#x7)
- The dog jumped into the heap of leaves. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/#x8)
- They divided the money into three heaps. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/#x9)

### note

A heap is a group (a total); taking from it subtracts, adding to it adds. Trap: «a heap of» or «heaps of» in speech can just mean «a lot», with no number. A heaped spoon holds more than a level spoon.

### In the corpora

- [She landed on "a heap of sticks and dry leaves" and "was not a bit hurt".](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/1-alice-ch1-part1-down-the-rabbit-hole/22/)
- [Pour vinegar onto a heap of baking soda and it froths up like a witch's cauldron.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/18-the-fizz-vinegar-lemon-and-soda/0/)
- [A compost heap gets warm because microbes break down the scraps and release energy as heat.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/23-browning-apples-rotting-and-mould/18/)
- [In Australian English "heaps" means lots or very, as in "heaps of dashes".](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/36-brackets-dashes-colons-semicolons-and-hyphens/16/)
- [It's Monday, it's PE, and her kit is in a heap on Dad's bedroom floor.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/2/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «heap» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/heap/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.