— used to describe a person's level of success, position in society, etc.在社会的底层/上层
Quite a few people applied for the job, but his past work experience put him at the top of the heap. [=made him the strongest candidate of the group]不少人申请了这份工作，但他过去的工作经历使他成了最佳人选。
People at the bottom of the heap [=poor people] will not be helped much by the new tax cuts.新的减税政策对穷人的帮助并不大。