Dogpile
noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A disorderly pile of people formed by jumping upon a victim. US, colloquial
"The bottom man of a 'dog pile' in a fraternity house scuffle is in a hospital with a neck dislocation."
- 2 Any similarly disorderly pile of people or things. US, colloquial, figuratively
"Purdy tucked the pigskin under his elbow and cantered over a dog-pile for a tally."
- 3 A pile of dog excrement. US, colloquial, euphemistic
"Mrs. Brown cleaned her lawn up bright and early each day; Picked up all the dog piles so her children could play."
- 4 The situation where many participants attack the same user (on a discussion forum or similar). Internet
- 5 A cache stampede.
- 1 To jump into a dogpile. US, ambitransitive, colloquial, often
"He can either take a beating from one man or... be dogpiled by a dozen men."
- 2 To pile on, to overwhelm in other senses. US, ambitransitive, colloquial, figuratively
- 3 For many participants to attack the same user (on a discussion forum or similar). Internet
"But this guy was serious, using online payment services and dogpiling her e-mail box within minutes, requesting expedited shipping."
Example
More examples"The bottom man of a 'dog pile' in a fraternity house scuffle is in a hospital with a neck dislocation."
Etymology
From dog + pile. In reference to piles of people, originally as a noun after earlier pig pile. In reference to dog excrement, a clipping of pile of shit.
Related phrases
More for "dogpile"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.