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What is the definition of a pyramid?

pyramid

 [pir-uh-mid]   Origin

pyr·a·mid

   [pir-uh-mid]
noun
1.
Architecture.
a.
(in ancient Egypt) a quadrilateral masonry mass having smooth, steeply sloping sides meeting at an apex, used as a tomb.
b.
(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.
EXPAND
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.
Also called pyramid scheme. a scheme that pyramids, as in speculating on the stock exchange or writing a chain letter.
9.
a tree pruned or trained to grow in conical form.
10.
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.
COLLAPSE
Egypt www.maranathatours.com Biblicaly Guided Tours and Cruises Israel, Italy,Greece, Turkey, Egypt
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verb (used without object)
11.
to take, or become disposed in, the form of a pyramid.
12.
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.
13.
to increase gradually, as with the completion of each phase: Our problems are beginning to pyramid.

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Pyramid is always a great word to know.
So is dome. Does it mean:
a drawing that represents an object or structure as being projected geometrically on a vertical plane parallel to one of its sides
a vault with a circular plan and usually in the form of a portion of a sphere
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used with object)
14.
to arrange in the form of a pyramid.
15.
to raise or increase (costs, wages, etc.) by adding amounts gradually.
16.
to cause to increase at a steady and progressive rate: New overseas markets have pyramided the company's profits.
17.
Stock Exchange. (in speculating on margin) to operate in, or employ in, pyramiding.
Origin:
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 Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To pyramid
Collins
World English Dictionary
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.  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.  chiefly (US) the series of transactions involved in pyramiding securities
8.  (plural) a game similar to billiards with fifteen coloured balls
 
—vb
9.  to build up or be arranged in the form of a pyramid
10.  chiefly (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
11.  finance to form (companies) into a pyramid
 
[C16 (earlier pyramis): from Latin pyramis, from Greek puramis, probably from Egyptian]
 
pyramidal
 
—adj
 
pyra'midical
 
—adj
 
pyra'midic
 
—adj
 
py'ramidally
 
—adv
 
pyra'midically
 
—adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pyramid
1550s (earlier in L. form piramis, late 14c.), from Fr. pyramide (O.Fr. piramide, 12c.), from L. pyramides, pl. of pyramis "one of the pyramids of Egypt," from Gk. pyramis (pl. pyramides), apparently an alteration of Egyptian pimar "pyramid."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

pyramid pyr·a·mid (pĭr'ə-mĭd)
n.

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

  2. A structure or part shaped like a pyramid.

py·ram'i·dal (pĭ-rām'ĭ-dl) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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