pyramids

¹ Cultural  

1. A group of huge monuments in the Egyptian desert, built as burial vaults for the pharaohs and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The pyramids have square bases and four triangular faces. Pyramid building began in Egypt (see also Egypt) about 2700 b.c. and required vast amounts of slave labor.

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pyramids ² Cultural  

1. A group of huge monuments in the desert of Egypt (see also Egypt), built as burial vaults for ancient Egyptian kings. The age of pyramid building in Egypt began about 2700 b.c. (See under “World History to 1550.”)

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Example Sentences

The pyramids rise not far from its banks.

From Slate • Feb. 25, 2026

Up close, it feels like watching a pair of ancient pyramids being built.

From BBC • Jan. 26, 2026

Scenes on Spanish galleons and Aztec pyramids unfold amid a pulsating beat of rock, pop and flamenco riffs.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2026

Installations by renowned international artists including Italy's Michelangelo Pistoletto and Portugal's Alexandre Farto have been erected in the sand under the great pyramids of Giza outside Cairo.

From Barron's • Nov. 11, 2025

More than 5,000 years ago, before the time of the pyramids, the ancient Egyptians designed a system for transcribing their decimal system, where pictures stood for numbers.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife