a. A solid figure with a polygonal base and triangular faces that meet at a common point.
b. Something shaped like this polyhedron.
2.
a. A massive monument of ancient Egypt having a rectangular base and four triangular faces culminating in a single apex, built over or around a crypt or tomb.
b. Any of various similar constructions, especially a four-sided Mesoamerican temple having stepped sides and a flat top surmounted by chambers.
3. The transactions involved in pyramiding stock.
4. Anatomy A structure or part suggestive of a pyramid in shape.
v.pyr·a·mid·ed, pyr·a·mid·ing, pyr·a·mids
v.tr.
1. To place or build in the shape of a pyramid.
2. To build (an argument or thesis, for example) progressively from a basic general premise.
3. To speculate in (stock) by making a series of buying and selling transactions in which paper profits are used as margin for buying more stock.
v.intr.
1. To assume the shape of a pyramid.
2. To increase rapidly and on a widening base.
3. To pyramid stocks.
[Latin pȳramis, pȳramid-, from Greek pūramis, of unknown origin.]
1. (Architecture) 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. (Mathematics) maths a solid having a polygonal base and triangular sides that meet in a common vertex
4. (Chemistry) crystallog a crystal form in which three planes intersect all three axes of the crystal
5. (Anatomy) anatomy any pointed or cone-shaped bodily structure or part
6. (Banking & Finance) 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. (Stock Exchange) chieflyUS the series of transactions involved in pyramiding securities
8. (Billiards & Snooker) (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. (Stock Exchange) chieflyUS 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. (Banking & Finance) finance to form (companies) into a pyramid
Also called (rare): pyramis
[C16 (earlier pyramis): from Latin pyramis, from Greek puramis, probably from Egyptian]
1. a massive quadrilateral masonry structure having smooth, steeply sloping sides meeting at an apex, as a tomb built in ancient Egypt, or stepped and sharply sloping sides, as a temple platform built in pre-Columbian Central America.
2. any object or arrangement of objects shaped like a pyramid.
3. a system or structure resembling a pyramid, as in hierarchical form.
4. a solid having a polygonal base, and triangular sides that meet in a point.
5. any crystalline form the planes of which intersect all three of the axes.
6. any of various anatomical parts or structures of pyramidal form.
7. the series of transactions involved in pyramiding.
v.i.
8. to take, or become disposed in, the form of a pyramid.
9. to speculate in securities trading by using paper profits as margin for additional buying and selling.
10. to increase gradually, as with the completion of each phase.
v.t.
11. to arrange in the form of a pyramid.
12. to raise or increase (costs, wages, etc.) by adding amounts gradually.
13. to cause to increase at a steady and progressive rate.
14. to employ in speculative pyramiding.
[1590–1600; < Latin pȳramid-, s. of pȳramis < Greek pȳramís; replacing earlier, Middle English pyramis < Latin, as above]
any material thing or group of objects in the shape of a pyramid.
Examples: pyramid of ambition, 1826; of white blossom, 1886; of bones, 1756; of books; of fame, 1670; of flame, 1651; of inference, 1882; of lawbooks, 1727; of men, 1831; of power, 1628.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
pyramid - a polyhedron having a polygonal base and triangular sides with a common vertex
polyhedron - a solid figure bounded by plane polygons or faces
2.
pyramid - (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
1. a solid shape usually with a square or triangular base, and sloping triangular sides meeting in a point. piramied شَكْل هَرَمي пирамида pirâmide pyramida die Pyramide pyramide πυραμίδαpirámide püramiid هرم pyramidi pyramideפירמידה पिरामिड gúla piramida pÿramídi piramide 角錐形のもの 피라미드 piramidė piramīda piramid piramidepyramidepiramida هرم، pirâmide piramidă пирамида pyramída piramida piramida pyramid สิ่งของที่มีรูปทรงเหมือนพีระมิด piramit 棱錐體 піраміда مخروطي hình chóp 棱锥体
2. an ancient tomb built in this shape in Egypt. piramied هَرَم من أهرامات مِصْر الفرْعونيه пирамида pirâmide pyramida die Pyramide pyramide πυραμίδα της Αιγύπτου pirámide püramiid هر یک از اهرام مصر pyramidi pyramideפירמידה पिरामिड piramis piramida pÿramídi piramide ピラミッド 고대 이집트 무덤 piramidė piramīda piramid piramidepyramidepiramida د مصريانو هرم pirâmide piramidă пирамида pyramída piramida piramida pyramid พีระมิด piramit (埃及的)金字塔 піраміда اہرام مصر kim tự tháp (埃及的)金字塔
At the moment when that pyramid of fire rose to a prodigious height into the air, the glare of flame lit up the whole of Florida; and for a moment day superseded night over a considerable extent of the country.
As I gazed upon this monument, doubtless the work of an extinct and forgotten race, thus buried in the green nook of an island at the ends of the earth, the existence of which was yesterday unknown, a stronger feeling of awe came over me than if I had stood musing at the mighty base of the Pyramid of Cheops.
Passepartout, though he had not been able to study or rehearse a part, was designated to lend the aid of his sturdy shoulders in the great exhibition of the "human pyramid," executed by the Long Noses of the god Tingou.
While Daedalus, who is force, measured; while Orpheus, who is intelligence, sang;--the pillar, which is a letter; the arcade, which is a syllable; the pyramid, which is a word,--all set in movement at once by a law of geometry and by a law of poetry, grouped themselves, combined, amalgamated, descended, ascended, placed themselves side by side on the soil, ranged themselves in stories in the sky, until they had written under the dictation of the general idea of an epoch, those marvellous books which were also marvellous edifices: the Pagoda of Eklinga, the Rhamseion of Egypt, the Temple of Solomon.
At the other end of the series we have the cells of the hive-bee, placed in a double layer: each cell, as is well known, is an hexagonal prism, with the basal edges of its six sides bevelled so as to join on to a pyramid, formed of three rhombs.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.