The Wordsmith Dictionary

pyr ¦am |idal or ¦chid ▶noun a small orchid of calcareous grassland, with a conical spike of pinkish-purple flowers. ●Anacamptis pyramidalis, family Orchidaceae.

pyramid scheme

pyr a mid scheme ▶noun a form of investment (illegal in the US and elsewhere ) in which each paying participant recruits two further participants, with returns being given to early participants using money contributed by later ones.

Oxford Dictionary

pyramid

pyramid |ˈpɪrəmɪd | ▶noun 1 a monumental structure with a square or triangular base and sloping sides that meet in a point at the top, especially one built of stone as a royal tomb in ancient Egypt. Pyramids were built as tombs for Egyptian pharaohs from the 3rd dynasty ( c. 2649 bc ) until c. 1640 bc. The early step pyramid, with several levels and a flat top, developed into the true pyramid, such as the three largest at Giza near Cairo (the Pyramids, including the Great Pyramid of Cheops ) which were one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Monuments of similar shape are associated with the Aztec and Maya civilizations of around 1200 bc – ad 750, and, like those in Egypt, were part of large ritual complexes. 2 an object, shape, or arrangement in the form of a pyramid: a pyramid of logs | [ as modifier ] : a pyramid roof. • Geometry a polyhedron of which one face is a polygon of any number of sides, and the other faces are triangles with a common vertex: a three-sided pyramid. • Anatomy a structure of more or less pyramidal form, especially in the brain or the renal medulla. • an organization or system that is structured with fewer people or things at each level as one approaches the top: the lowest strata of the social pyramid. • (pyramids ) a game played on a billiard table with fifteen coloured balls arranged in a triangle and a cue ball. 3 a system of financial growth achieved by a small initial investment, with subsequent investments being funded by using unrealized profits as collateral. • a form of investment in which each paying participant recruits two further participants, with returns being given to early participants using money contributed by later ones. ▶verb [ with obj. ] chiefly N. Amer. 1 stack or arrange in the shape of a pyramid. 2 achieve a substantial return on (money or property ) after making a small initial investment. DERIVATIVES pyramidic adjective |-ˈmɪdɪk |, pyramidical |-ˈmɪdɪk (ə )l |adjective ORIGIN late Middle English (in the geometrical sense ): via Latin from Greek puramis, puramid-, of unknown ultimate origin.

pyramidal

pyramidal |pɪˈramɪd (ə )l | ▶adjective 1 resembling a pyramid in shape. 2 Anatomy & Medicine relating to or denoting a tract of motor nerves within the pyramid of the medulla oblongata.

pyramidal orchid

pyr ¦am |idal or ¦chid ▶noun a small orchid of calcareous grassland, with a conical spike of pinkish-purple flowers. ●Anacamptis pyramidalis, family Orchidaceae.

pyramid selling

pyra |mid sell |ing ▶noun [ mass noun ] a system of selling goods in which agency rights are sold to an increasing number of distributors at successively lower levels.

Duden Dictionary

pyramidal

py ra mi dal Adjektiv |pyramid a l |1 pyramidenförmig spätlateinisch pyramidalis ein pyramidaler Aufbau | figurativ pyramidale Organisationsstrukturen 2 umgangssprachlich emotional veraltend gewaltig, riesenhaft

Pyramide

Py ra mi de Substantiv, feminin , die |Pyram i de |die Pyramide; Genitiv: der Pyramide, Plural: die Pyramiden über lateinisch pyramis (Genitiv: pyramidis ) < griechisch pyramís; ägyptisches Wort 1 Geometrie geometrischer Körper mit einem ebenen Vieleck als Grundfläche und einer entsprechenden Anzahl von gleichschenkligen Dreiecken, die in einer gemeinsamen Spitze enden, als Seitenflächen 2 pyramidenförmiger, monumentaler Grab- oder Tempelbau verschiedener Kulturen, besonders im alten Ägypten 3 pyramidenförmiges Gebilde eine Pyramide übereinandergestapelter Bausteine 4 Figur im Kunstkraftsport

Pyramidenbahn

Py ra mi den bahn Substantiv, feminin Anatomie, Physiologie , die |Pyram i denbahn |wichtigste der motorischen Nervenbahnen, die von der Hirnrinde ins Rückenmark zieht

pyramidenförmig

py ra mi den för mig Adjektiv |pyram i denförmig |von der Form einer Pyramide 1

Pyramidenstadt

Py ra mi den stadt Substantiv, feminin , die |Pyram i denstadt |von Pyramiden geprägte [Ruinen ]stadt

Pyramidenstumpf

Py ra mi den stumpf Substantiv, maskulin Geometrie , der |Pyram i denstumpf |durch einen parallel zur Grundfläche geführten Schnitt entstandener Teil einer Pyramide 1 ohne Spitze

French Dictionary

pyramidal

pyramidal , ale , aux adj. adjectif En forme de pyramide. : Des toits pyramidaux. Note Orthographique p y ramidal.

pyramide

pyramide n. f. nom féminin 1 Monument de l ’ancienne Égypte qui servait de tombeau aux pharaons. 2 Entassement en forme de pyramide. : Des pyramides de fruits et de légumes mettent l ’eau à la bouche. Les pyramides d ’épices du souk d ’Essaouira. LOCUTION Pyramide des âges. Représentation graphique de la répartition d ’une population par âges. Note Orthographique p y ramide.

Sanseido Wisdom Dictionary

pyramid

pyr a mid /pɪ́rəmɪ̀d / (! 強勢は第1音節 ) 名詞複～s /-dz /C 1 〖しばしばP -〗ピラミッド ; 金字塔 .2 〖単数扱い〗ピラミッド型のシステム〘組織人口など〙.3 ピラミッド型のもの〘建物など〙; 〘数〙角錐（かくすい）; 〘解剖〙錐体（すいたい）(部 ).4 〘証券〙(株式の )利乗せ .5 〖～s; 単数扱い〗ピラミッド〘ビリヤードゲームの一種〙.動詞他動詞 1 …をピラミッド状にする .2 〈賃金など〉を次第に上げる .3 〘証券〙〈株式〉を利乗せする .自動詞ピラミッド状になる .～́ sch è me ねずみ講 (方式 ).～́ s è lling 〘商〙ピラミッド式販売, マルチ商法〘ねずみ講式の紹介販売〙.

pyramidal

py ram i dal /pɪrǽmɪd (ə )l /形容詞ピラミッド (型 )の .