stock·pile
ˈstäk-ˌpī(-ə)l 
: a storage pile: such as
a
: a reserve supply of something essential accumulated within a country for use during a shortage
b
: a gradually accumulated reserve of something
avert stockpiles of unsold cars—
Bert Pierce
Bert Pierce
stockpiled; stockpiling; stockpiles
1
: to place or store in or on a stockpile
2
: to accumulate a stockpile of
a country suspected of stockpiling weapons
stockpiler
noun
Synonyms
Examples of stockpile in a Sentence
Noun
a stockpile of medical supplies
an emergency stockpile of potable water and canned goods in the cellar
Verb
The government stockpiled vaccines to prepare for a flu epidemic.
we should be able to stockpile enough vaccine for the upcoming flu season
Recent Examples on the WebAndrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 9 Aug. 2024
That’s because central banks — especially China’s — have been increasing their stockpiles of the precious metal amid global economic uncertainty.
—Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 7 Aug. 2024
Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 31 July 2024
Illustration: Ever Morera Half the fun of summer is anticipation—stockpiling your beach towels and Bluetooth speakers well in advance of all the block parties and beach days.
—Adrienne So, WIRED, 17 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for stockpile 
Noun
Yet these hidden stockpiles were still there: in the late 1990s, Soviet arms and explosives were discovered in Switzerland and Belgium, and the FBI was investigating whether there were similar KGB arms caches in the United States.
—Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 9 Aug. 2024
That’s because central banks — especially China’s — have been increasing their stockpiles of the precious metal amid global economic uncertainty.
—Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 7 Aug. 2024
Verb
On Supermarket Sweep — which ran from 1990 to 1995 — contestants answered trivia questions and then earned time to race around the grocery store set to stockpile items in their grocery carts.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 31 July 2024
Illustration: Ever Morera Half the fun of summer is anticipation—stockpiling your beach towels and Bluetooth speakers well in advance of all the block parties and beach days.
—Adrienne So, WIRED, 17 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for stockpile
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stockpile.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Stockpile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stockpile. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.
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