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what is the definition of a pyramid
Did you know: Yes, the stuff that forms in your eyes when you sleep does have a name.

pyramid

 - 8 dictionary results

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.
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.
–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.
–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.
Use pyramid in a Sentence
Origin:
1350–1400; < L pȳramid- (s. of pȳramis) < Gk pȳramís; r. ME pyramis < L, as above

—Related forms
pyr·a·mid·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To pyramid
World English Dictionary
pyramid (ˈpɪrəmɪd) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—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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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
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Medical Dictionary

pyr·a·mid definition

Pronunciation: /ˈpir-ə-ˌmid/
Function: n
1 : a polyhedron having for its base a polygon and for faces triangles with a common vertex
2 : an anatomical structure resembling a pyramid: as
a : RENAL PYRAMID
b : either of two large bundles of motor fibers from the cerebral cortex that reach the medulla oblongata and are continuous with the corticospinal tracts of the spinal cord
c : a conical projection making up the central part of the inferior vermis of the cerebellum
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2007 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: pyr·a·mid
Pronunciation: 'pir-&-"mid
Function: noun
1 : a group of holding companies superimposed on one another to give those in control of the top holding company control over all of the companies with a small investment
2 : the series of operations involved in pyramiding on an exchange
3 : a pyramid scheme

Main Entry: pyramid
Function: intransitive verb
: to speculate (as on a security or commodity exchange) by using paper profits as a margin for additional transactions transitive verb 1 : to use (as profits) in speculative pyramiding
2 : to increase the impact of (as a tax assessed at the production level) on the ultimate consumer by treating as a cost subject to markup

Main Entry: pyramid
Function: adjective
: of, relating to, or being an illegal scheme in which participants give money or other valuables in exchange for the opportunity to receive payment for recruiting others to participate in the scheme
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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