pyramid

[pir-uh-mid] /ˈpɪr ə mɪd/
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.
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.
Origin
1350-1400; < Latin pȳramid- (stem of pȳramis) < Greek pȳramís; replacing Middle English pyramis < Latin, as above
Related forms
pyramidlike, adjective
Examples from the web for pyramids
  • Egyptians built some pyramids specifically for these initiation rituals.
  • Many collaterals from the reticular formation and from the pyramids enter the inferior olivary nucleus.
  • The ice buildings comprise a small town and often include replicas of churches, pagodas, pyramids and palaces.
  • The magnificent civilization that had built the great pyramids had lost its way, torn apart by petty warlords.
  • It asked how many faces would be exposed if the two pyramids were placed together.
  • The only people that can survive are the people under these pyramids or deep inside caves.
  • pyramids are multi-level marketing plans that focus on recruitment of members rather than the sales of products or services.
  • Graded-density material fabricated using an array of pyramids exhibits full density at the base and zero density at the peaks.
British Dictionary definitions for pyramids

pyramid

/ˈpɪrəmɪd/
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.
(mainly US) the series of transactions involved in pyramiding securities
8.
(pl) a game similar to billiards with fifteen coloured balls
verb
9.
to build up or be arranged in the form of a pyramid
10.
(mainly 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
Derived Forms
pyramidal (pɪˈræmɪdəl), pyramidical, pyramidic, adjective
pyramidally, pyramidically, adverb
Word Origin
C16 (earlier pyramis): from Latin pyramis, from Greek puramis, probably from Egyptian
Word Origin and History for pyramids

pyramid

n.

1550s (earlier in Latin form piramis, late 14c.), from French pyramide (Old French piramide "obelisk, stela," 12c.), from Latin pyramides, plural of pyramis "one of the pyramids of Egypt," from Greek pyramis (plural pyramides) "a pyramid," apparently an alteration of Egyptian pimar "pyramid." Financial sense is from 1911. Related: Pyramidal.

pyramids in Medicine

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.
pyramids in Culture

pyramids definition


A group of huge monuments in the desert of Egypt, built as burial vaults for ancient Egyptian kings. The age of pyramid building in Egypt began about 2700 b.c. (See under “World History to 1550.”)

pyramids definition


A group of huge monuments in the Egyptian desert, built as burial vaults for the pharaohs and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The pyramids have square bases and four triangular faces. Pyramid building began in Egypt about 2700 b.c. and required vast amounts of slave labor.

Slang definitions & phrases for pyramids

platforms

noun

Shoes with extremely thick soles and heels

[1970s+; in the sense ''very thick soles,'' found by 1945]


pyramids

Related Terms

platforms


Encyclopedia Article for pyramids

British pocket-billiards game in which 15 red balls are arranged in a pyramid formation to begin. Players use a white cue ball in attempting to pocket the reds, scoring one point for each; the player who scores the highest number of pocketed balls is the winner. Players lose a point and respot a red ball each time they pocket the cue ball or fail to contact a red ball. A player shoots until he fails to pocket a ball, and an opponent then continues play from the point at which the cue ball comes to rest. Pyramids was a forerunner of the game snooker.

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