pyramid
Use Pyramid in a sentence
ə 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.
00:10
Pyramid
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is absquatulate. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to flee; abscond: |
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
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. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To pyramid
Collins
World English Dictionary
pyramid (ˈpɪrəmɪd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —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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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
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
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
pyramid pyr·a·mid (pĭr'ə-mĭd)
n.
A solid figure with a polygonal base and triangular faces that meet at a common point.
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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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Low-wage jobs have always been part of the economic landscape, the same way every pyramid has a base.
Thanks to the erroneous food pyramid and the carb companies that fool us to eat their cheap cereals, chips, and snacks.
Incredibly, twice a year on the spring and autumn equinoxes, a shadow falls on the pyramid in the shape of a serpent.
He taught us that the journey to the top of the pyramid was the result of a lifetime of preparation.
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