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⇱ pyramid - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

pyramid

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈpɪrəmɪd/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈpɪrəmɪd/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(pir′ə mid)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
pyr•a•mid /ˈpɪrəmɪd/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. Architecturea very large, four-sided structure with faces that are triangular, having smooth, steeply sloping sides meeting at a point at the top, as a tomb of ancient Egypt.
  2. any object or arrangement of objects shaped like a pyramid.
  3. a system or structure resembling a pyramid:a food pyramid, showing which foods should be eaten most (at the base) and which should be eaten least (at the top).
py•ram•i•dal /pɪˈræmɪdəl/USA pronunciation  adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
pyr•a•mid  (pir′ə mid),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. 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.
  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. Mathematics[Geom.]a solid having a polygonal base, and triangular sides that meet in a point.
  6. Crystallographyany form the planes of which intersect all three of the axes.
  7. Anatomy, Zoology, Zoologyany of various parts or structures of pyramidal form.
  8. Communications, BusinessAlso called pyramid scheme. a scheme that pyramids, as in speculating on the stock exchange or writing a chain letter.
  9. Botanya tree pruned or trained to grow in conical form.
  10. British Terms, Sport pyramids, (used with a sing. v.)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.

v.i. 
  1. to take, or become disposed in, the form of a pyramid.
  2. Business[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.

v.t. 
  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. Business[Stock Exchange.](in speculating on margin) to operate in, or employ in, pyramiding.
  • Latin, as above
  • Greek pȳramís; replacing Middle English pyramis
  • Latin pȳramid- (stem of pȳramis)
  • 1350–1400
pyr′a•mid•like′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
pyramid /ˈpɪrəmɪd/ n
  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. a solid having a polygonal base and triangular sides that meet in a common vertex
  4. a crystal form in which three planes intersect all three axes of the crystal
  5. 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
  6. (plural) a game similar to billiards with fifteen coloured balls
 vb
  1. to build up or be arranged in the form of a pyramid
  2. to form (companies) into a pyramid
Also called (rare): pyramis /ˈpɪrəmɪs/ Etymology: 16th Century (earlier pyramis): from Latin pyramis, from Greek puramis, probably from Egyptianpyramidal /pɪˈræmɪdəl/, ˌpyraˈmidical, ˌpyraˈmidic adj pyˈramidally, ˌpyraˈmidically adv
'pyramid' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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