PYRAMID

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Pyramid mean? 

• PYRAMID (noun)
  The noun PYRAMID has 3 senses:

1. a polyhedron having a polygonal base and triangular sides with a common vertex

2. (stock market) a series of transactions in which the speculator increases his holdings by using the rising market value of those holdings as margin for further purchases

3. a massive monument with a square base and four triangular sides; begun by Cheops around 2700 BC as royal tombs in ancient Egypt

  Familiarity information: PYRAMID used as a noun is uncommon.

• PYRAMID (verb)
  The verb PYRAMID has 4 senses:

1. enlarge one's holdings on an exchange on a continued rise by using paper profits as margin to buy additional amounts

2. use or deal in (as of stock or commercial transaction) in a pyramid deal

3. arrange or build up as if on the base of a pyramid

4. increase rapidly and progressively step by step on a broad base

  Familiarity information: PYRAMID used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PYRAMID (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A polyhedron having a polygonal base and triangular sides with a common vertex

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("pyramid" is a kind of...):

polyhedron (a solid figure bounded by plane polygons or faces)

Derivation:

pyramid (arrange or build up as if on the base of a pyramid)

pyramidal; pyramidical (resembling a pyramid)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(stock market) a series of transactions in which the speculator increases his holdings by using the rising market value of those holdings as margin for further purchases

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("pyramid" is a kind of...):

speculation; venture (an investment that is very risky but could yield great profits)

Domain category:

securities market; stock exchange; stock market (an exchange where security trading is conducted by professional stockbrokers)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A massive monument with a square base and four triangular sides; begun by Cheops around 2700 BC as royal tombs in ancient Egypt

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

Great Pyramid; Pyramid; Pyramids of Egypt

Instance hypernyms:

memorial; monument (a structure erected to commemorate persons or events)

Holonyms ("Pyramid" is a member of...):

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; Seven Wonders of the World (impressive monuments created in the ancient world that were regarded with awe)

Derivation:

pyramid (arrange or build up as if on the base of a pyramid)

pyramidal; pyramidical (resembling a pyramid)

• PYRAMID (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Enlarge one's holdings on an exchange on a continued rise by using paper profits as margin to buy additional amounts

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "pyramid" is one way to...):

benefit; gain; profit (derive a benefit from)

Domain category:

investing; investment (the act of investing; laying out money or capital in an enterprise with the expectation of profit)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Use or deal in (as of stock or commercial transaction) in a pyramid deal

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Hypernyms (to "pyramid" is one way to...):

deal; sell; trade (do business; offer for sale as for one's livelihood)

Domain category:

crime; criminal offence; criminal offense; law-breaking ((criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Arrange or build up as if on the base of a pyramid

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "pyramid" is one way to...):

arrange; set up (put into a proper or systematic order)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

Pyramid (a massive monument with a square base and four triangular sides; begun by Cheops around 2700 BC as royal tombs in ancient Egypt)

pyramid (a polyhedron having a polygonal base and triangular sides with a common vertex)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Increase rapidly and progressively step by step on a broad base

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "pyramid" is one way to...):

increase (become bigger or greater in amount)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

 Context examples 

A functional unit of the kidney consisting of a renal pyramid and the renal cortex surrounding it.

(Kidney Lobe, NCI Thesaurus)

It was a small pyramid of black, putty-like stuff, exactly like the one upon the table of the study.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

That may be because you already have worked in a high-level job and there are fewer positions at the top of the pyramid.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

"You shall walk up the pyramids of Egypt!" he growled.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Cystic disease of the medullary portion of the renal pyramids; asymptomatic unless complicated by infection, calculi, or obstruction; should be distinguished from congenital polycystic disease of the kidneys.

(Medullary Sponge Kidney, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

The arched form consisting of a reddish-brown cortical substance running from one cortical column to the next between the base of the pyramid and the capsule in the kidney.

(Cortical Arch, NCI Thesaurus)

He touched it once more, wishing us a good journey; and we left him standing on the pavement, as respectable a mystery as any pyramid in Egypt.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

There was now employment for the whole party—for though they could not all talk, they could all eat; and the beautiful pyramids of grapes, nectarines, and peaches soon collected them round the table.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

But it was augmented and rendered sublime by the mighty Alps, whose white and shining pyramids and domes towered above all, as belonging to another earth, the habitations of another race of beings.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

The 60,000 newly discovered structures include raised highways, urban centers with sidewalks, homes, terraces, industrial-sized agricultural fields, irrigation canals, ceremonial centers, a 30-meter high pyramid, fortresses and moats.

(Hidden Mayan Civilization Revealed in Guatemala Jungle, VOA)