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