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
a solid having a polygonal base and triangular sides that meet in a common vertex
4. crystallography
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. (plural)
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
Also called (rare): pyramis
Derived forms
pyramidal (pɪˈræmɪdəl), pyramidical (ˌpyraˈmidical) or pyramidic (ˌpyraˈmidic)
adjective
pyramidally (pyˈramidally) or pyramidically (ˌpyraˈmidically)
adverb
Word origin
C16 (earlier pyramis): from Latin pyramis, from Greek puramis, probably from Egyptian