Advertisement

View synonyms for pyramid

pyramid

[pir-uh-mid]

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

/ 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
Discover More

Other Word Forms

  • pyramidlike adjective
  • pyramidal adjective
  • pyramidally adverb
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of pyramid1

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pyramid1

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

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Bodycare's no-nonsense store layouts are known for their bright lighting, and window displays that often feature piles of toilet tissue or pyramids of washing up powder.

From BBC

They run alongside raised banks of red earth, deep trenches and neat lines of anti-tank dragon's teeth concrete pyramids.

From BBC

More updates on the club pages on our app and website up and down the pyramid.

From BBC

A golden pyramid, made from Abuelita Mexican Chocolate bricks, was placed in front of the painting; the bricks were free for the taking during the exhibition’s debut.

While she closes this chapter on the peak of New York’s social pyramid, the society queen’s marriage is very much on the rocks.

From Salon

Advertisement

Related Words

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


pyralidpyramidal