Pyramid Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms pyramid American [pir-uh-mid] / ˈpɪr ə mɪd /

noun

1. Architecture.

   1. (in ancient Egypt) a quadrilateral masonry mass having smooth, steeply sloping sides meeting at an apex, used as a tomb.

   2. (in ancient Egypt and pre-Columbian Central America) a quadrilateral masonry mass, stepped and sharply sloping, used as a tomb or a platform for a temple.

2. anything of such form.

3. a number of persons or things arranged or heaped up in this manner.

   a pyramid of acrobats; a pyramid of boxes.

4. a system or structure resembling a pyramid, as in hierarchical form.

5. Geometry. a solid having a polygonal base, and triangular sides that meet in a point.

6. Crystallography. any form the planes of which intersect all three of the axes.

7. Anatomy, Zoology. any of various parts or structures of pyramidal form.

8. pyramid scheme.

9. a tree pruned or trained to grow in conical form.

10. (used with a singular verb) pyramids, a form of pocket billiards for two or four players in which 15 colored balls, initially placed in the form of a triangle, are pocketed with one white cue ball.

verb (used without object)

1. to take, or become disposed in, the form of a pyramid.

2. Stock Exchange. (in speculating on margin) to enlarge one's operations in a series of transactions, as on a continued rise or decline in price, by using profits in transactions not yet closed, and consequently not yet in hand, as margin for additional buying or selling in the next transaction.

3. to increase gradually, as with the completion of each phase.

   Our problems are beginning to pyramid.

verb (used with object)

1. to arrange in the form of a pyramid.

2. to raise or increase (costs, wages, etc.) by adding amounts gradually.

3. to cause to increase at a steady and progressive rate.

   New overseas markets have pyramided the company's profits.

4. Stock Exchange. (in speculating on margin) to operate in, or employ in, pyramiding.

pyramid British / ˈpɪrəmɪd, pɪˈræmɪdəl /

noun

1. a huge masonry construction that has a square base and, as in the case of the ancient Egyptian royal tombs, four sloping triangular sides

2. an object, formation, or structure resembling such a construction

3. maths a solid having a polygonal base and triangular sides that meet in a common vertex

4. crystallog a crystal form in which three planes intersect all three axes of the crystal

5. anatomy any pointed or cone-shaped bodily structure or part

6. finance a group of enterprises containing a series of holding companies structured so that the top holding company controls the entire group with a relatively small proportion of the total capital invested

7. the series of transactions involved in pyramiding securities

8. (plural) a game similar to billiards with fifteen coloured balls

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. to build up or be arranged in the form of a pyramid

2. to speculate in (securities or property) by increasing purchases on additional margin or collateral derived from paper profits associated with high prices of securities and property in a boom

3. finance to form (companies) into a pyramid

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

• pyramidal adjective
• pyramidally adverb
• pyramidlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of pyramid

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin pȳramid- (stem of pȳramis ), from Greek pȳramís; replacing Middle English pyramis, from Latin, as above

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Picturesque wind instruments suddenly burst forth as if a flock of birds were flying over the pyramids.

From Los Angeles Times

Like many managers of his generation who began lower down the pyramid, Martin started at the bottom of the ladder, in non-league.

From BBC

The Prem would separate from the rest of the pyramid, with traditional promotion and relegation immediately scrapped.

From BBC

Baby Whaleback Hill resembled not one but one hundred baby whales piled together in a giant pyramid shape.

From Literature

A recent update of the federal dietary guidelines recommended Americans consume more protein and put beef atop the new food pyramid.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• edifice
• memorial
• monolith
• shrine
• tomb

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.