From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpileupˈpileup, pile-up noun [countable] ACCIDENTa traffic accident involving many vehicles a motorway pile-up► see thesaurus at accident
Examples from the Corpus
pileup• a multiple pile-up involving a minibus and five cars• Or it could be just an old fashioned pile-up.• Several people were injured in a 12-vehicle pile-up on the M25 near Wisley, Surrey.• Slick roads caused a six-car pile-up along Highway 30.• The pile-up happened in thick fog and caused a seven-mile tailback on the motorway.• Beyond, a glimpse of carnage - the pile-up on the southbound lane resembled a scrap metal yard.• But the sensational pile-up re-emphasised that any horse could win the National and revitalised public interest.• In another accident two people were taken to hospital after a three-car pile-up on the A350, near Chippenham, in Wilts.• Killed in a pile-up on the M25 on her way home from the airport.• Later a 30-vehicle pile-up shut the M62 near Humberside.• No wonder there were pile-ups on the autobahn. 