: an ancient massive structure found especially in Egypt having typically a square ground plan, outside walls in the form of four triangles that meet in a point at the top, and inner sepulchral chambers
b
: a structure or object of similar form
2
: a polyhedron having for its base a polygon and for faces triangles with a common vertex see Volume Formulas Table
3
: a crystalline form each face of which intersects the vertical axis and either two lateral axes or in the tetragonal system one lateral axis
4
: an anatomical structure resembling a pyramid: such as
a
: any of the conical masses that project from the renal medulla into the renal pelvis
b
: either of two large bundles of motor fibers from the cerebral cortex that reach the medulla oblongata and are continuous with the pyramidal tracts of the spinal cord
5
: an immaterial structure built on a broad supporting base and narrowing gradually to an apex
: to arrange or build up as if on the base of a pyramid
2
: to use (something, such as profits) in speculative pyramiding
3
: to increase the impact of (something, such as a tax assessed at the production level) on the ultimate consumer by treating as a cost subject to markup
Examples of pyramid in a Sentence
Noun
the ancient pyramids of Egypt
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Dissent from anywhere below the top of the party pyramid remains an offense punishable by exile.—Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 27 July 2024 Egypt’s earliest pyramids looked like giant, tapering staircases, possibly imitating a heavenly path for kings.—Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 25 July 2024 Fans also began circulating their own crudely Photoshopped creations, placing Giudice and Pippen in front of places like the Giza pyramids in Egypt, The Great Wall of China and and the Eiffel Tower.—Catherine Santino, Peoplemag, 10 July 2024 Mammoths survived there for 6,000 years after all other members of their species had died out, by which point the pyramids of Giza had stood for nearly a millennium.—Ferris Jabr, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for pyramid
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pyramid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
: either of two large bundles of motor fibers from the cerebral cortex that reach the medulla oblongata and are continuous with the corticospinal tracts of the spinal cord
c
: a conical projection making up the central part of the inferior vermis of the cerebellum
: a group of holding companies superimposed on one another to give those in control of the top holding company control over all of the companies with a small investment
2
: the series of operations involved in pyramiding on an exchange
3
: a pyramid scheme
pyramid
2 of 3intransitive verb
: to speculate (as on a security or commodity exchange) by using paper profits as a margin for additional transactions
: to increase the impact of (as a tax assessed at the production level) on the ultimate consumer by treating as a cost subject to markup
pyramid
3 of 3adjective
: of, relating to, or being an illegal scheme in which participants give money or other valuables in exchange for the opportunity to receive payment for recruiting others to participate in the scheme
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