pyramid

[ pir-uh-mid ]

/ ˈpɪr ə mɪd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pyramid ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Architecture.

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

anything of such form.

a number of persons or things arranged or heaped up in this manner: a pyramid of acrobats; a pyramid of boxes.

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

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

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

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

Also called pyramid scheme. a scheme that pyramids, as in speculating on the stock exchange or writing a chain letter.

a tree pruned or trained to grow in conical form.

pyramids, (used with a singular verb) British. 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)

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

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.

to increase gradually, as with the completion of each phase: Our problems are beginning to pyramid.

verb (used with object)

to arrange in the form of a pyramid.

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

to cause to increase at a steady and progressive rate: New overseas markets have pyramided the company's profits.

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

Nearby words

pyourachus, pyoureter, pyr-, pyracantha, pyralid, pyramid, pyramid bet, pyramid letter, pyramid of light, pyramid of medulla oblongata, pyramid of tympanum

Origin of pyramid

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

Related forms

pyr·a·mid·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pyramid

As the pyramid grew, the teen struggled to manage his responsibilities at home, in school and with his sham company.
He Bullies Kids and Calls It News|Brandy Zadrozny|June 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“This pyramid monster hotel will monopolize all the business in the city,” CEO Reto Wittwer said.
Nobody’s Home at the Hermit Kingdom’s Ghost Hotel|Nina Strochlic|May 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Finally, a pyramid constructed from Germany army helmets in New York City in 1918.
History Porn|Justin Green|March 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
At the top of the pyramid is AQIM, under which are a myriad of different groups each with their own agendas.
No Quick Fix For Mali: French Troops Can’t End Crisis|William Lloyd George|January 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST

When you take away the top of the pyramid, it literally looks like a different shape.
Matt Damon and John Krasinski Talk About Their Bromance, ‘Promised Land,’ and More|Kevin Fallon|December 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Instead of this he leaped over to a pile of rocks that chanced to lie close by, forming a species of pyramid.
The Boy Scouts Along the Susquehanna|Herbert Carter
Had this covering remained intact it would be impossible to climb the pyramid of Cheops.
The Critic in the Orient|George Hamlin Fitch
These, standing on into changed times, strike the imagination as forcibly as any pyramid or feudal tower.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition|Robert Louis Stevenson
In the zenith—that is, above the top of the Pyramid—is a triangle surrounded by a glory; and in the centre is an all-seeing eye.
The Lost Ten Tribes, and 1882|Joseph Wild
A great advance in the manufacture of pottery was achieved during the Pyramid Age, when the potter's wheel was invented.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia|Various

British Dictionary definitions for pyramid

pyramid

/ (ˈpɪrəmɪd) /

noun

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

an object, formation, or structure resembling such a construction

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

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

anatomy any pointed or cone-shaped bodily structure or part

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

mainly US the series of transactions involved in pyramiding securities

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

verb

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

mainly US 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

finance to form (companies) into a pyramid

Derived Forms

pyramidal (pɪˈræmɪdəl), pyramidical or pyramidic, adjectivepyramidally or pyramidically, adverb

Word Origin for pyramid

C16 (earlier pyramis): from Latin pyramis, from Greek puramis, probably from Egyptian

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

Medicine definitions for pyramid

pyramid

[ pĭr′ə-mĭd ]

n.

A solid figure with a polygonal base and triangular faces that meet at a common point.

A structure or part shaped like a pyramid.

Related forms

py•ram′i•dal (pĭ-răm′ĭ-dl) adj.