pyramid scheme

American

[pir-uh-mid skeem] / ˈpɪr ə mɪd ˌskim /

noun

any moneymaking scheme, usually illicit, in which each participating investor recruits others and then collects from what those invest, so that an ever-increasing number of participants generate more and more profit for those who recruited them.

She invited me to talk about a new "business opportunity," and ended up trying aggressively to hook me into a pyramid scheme.

Etymology

Origin of pyramid scheme

First recorded in 1945–50

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.

See Examples For:

pyramid scheme

De la Espriella also defended David Murcia, convicted of running a pyramid scheme that impoverished families across southern Colombia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

Legally, that's our precedent for a pyramid scheme.

From Salon ● May 21, 2025

Abbott + women + pyramid scheme = winner, winner, chicken dinner.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025

Officials say OneCoin, which was founded in 2014 in Bulgaria, functioned as a global pyramid scheme.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2023

Like any good pyramid scheme, everyone was in on it.

From Open Source Democracy by Douglas Rushkoff

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