Oxford Essential Dictionary
pyramid
noun
a shape with a flat bottom and three or four sides that come to a point at the top:
the pyramids of Egypt
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
pyramid
pyr‧a‧mid /ˈpɪrəmɪd/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: pyramis, from Greek]
1. a large stone building with four ↑triangular (=three-sided) walls that slope in to a point at the top, especially in Egypt and Central America
2. [usually singular] a system, society, company etc that is organized in different levels, so that there is a small number of people at the top and a much larger number of people at the bottom:
different levels of the management pyramid
At the bottom of the pyramid are the poor.
3. a pile of objects that have been put into the shape of a pyramid
pyramid of
a pyramid of oranges
4. an object shaped like a pyramid
—pyramidal /pɪˈræmɪdl/ adjective
• • •
THESAURUS
■ types of shapes
▪ square a shape with four straight sides that are equal in length and four angles of 90 degrees
▪ circle a round shape that is like an O
▪ semicircle half a circle
▪ triangle a shape with three straight sides and three angles
▪ rectangle a shape with four straight sides and four angles of 90 degrees
▪ oval a shape like a circle, but that is longer than it is wide
▪ cylinder an object in the shape of a tube
▪ cube a solid object with six equal square sides
▪ pyramid a shape with a square base and four triangular sides that meet in a point at the top
▪ sphere a shape like a ball
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
pyramid
pyra·mid [pyramid pyramids] [ˈpɪrəmɪd] [ˈpɪrəmɪd] noun
1. a large building with a square or triangular base and sloping sides that meet in a point at the top. The ancient Egyptians built stone pyramids as places to bury their kings and queens.
2. (geometry) a solid shape with a square or triangular base and sloping sides that meet in a point at the top
3. an object or a pile of things that has the shape of a pyramid
• a pyramid of cans in a shop window
4. an organization or a system in which there are fewer people at each level as you get near the top
• a management pyramid
Derived Word: pyramidal
Word Origin:
late Middle English (in the geometrical sense): via Latin from Greek puramis, puramid-, of unknown ultimate origin.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
pyramid / ˈpɪr.ə.mɪd / noun [ C ]
pyramid
C1 a solid object with a square base and four triangular sides that form a point at the top a pile of things that has the shape of a pyramid:
The acrobats formed a pyramid by standing on each other's shoulders.
figurative Many organizations have a pyramid structure (= there are fewer people at the top levels of them than there are at the bottom) .
© Cambridge University Press 2013
Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
pyramid
/pɪrəmɪd/
(pyramids)
1.
Pyramids are ancient stone buildings with four triangular sloping sides. The most famous pyramids are those built in ancient Egypt to contain the bodies of their kings and queens.
We set off to see the Pyramids and Sphinx.
N-COUNT
2.
A pyramid is a shape, object, or pile of things with a flat base and sloping triangular sides that meet at a point.
On a plate in front of him was piled a pyramid of flat white biscuits.
N-COUNT: usu N of n
3.
You can describe something as a pyramid when it is organized so that there are fewer people at each level as you go towards the top.
Traditionally, the Brahmins, or the priestly class, are set at the top of the social pyramid.
N-COUNT
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
pyramid
pyr·a·mid /ˈpirəˌmɪd/ noun, pl -mids [count]
1 a : a very large structure built especially in ancient Egypt that has a square base and four triangular sides which form a point at the top
• the ancient pyramids of Egypt
b : a shape, object, or pile that is wide near the bottom and narrows gradually as it reaches the top
• a pyramid of apples/oranges
- see picture at geometry
2 : something that resembles a pyramid in the way its parts are arranged or organized
• the social pyramid
• (US) the food pyramid [=a drawing or chart that is shaped like a pyramid and that shows the type of food you should eat for a healthy diet]
- py·ra·mi·dal /pəˈræmədl̩/ adj
• a pyramidal structure