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pyramid

noun · verb

Simple meaning

An ancient massive construction with a square or rectangular base and four triangular sides meeting in an apex.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

pihruhmid

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈpɪɹəmɪd

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. An ancient massive construction with a square or rectangular base and four triangular sides meeting in an apex, such as those built as tombs in Egypt or as bases for temples in Mesoamerica.

  2. A construction in the shape of a pyramid, usually with a square or rectangular base.

  3. geometry

    A polyhedron having a polygonal base and triangular sides with a common vertex

  4. geometry

    A solid with triangular lateral faces and a polygonal (often square or rectangular) base.

  5. A massive monument with a square base and four triangular sides; begun by Cheops around 2700 BC as royal tombs in ancient Egypt

  6. by extension

    Any structure or diagram with many members at the bottom and progressively fewer towards the top.

verb

  1. Arrange or build up as if on the base of a pyramid

  2. To build up or be arranged in the form of a pyramid.

  3. intransitive

    To employ, or take part in, a pyramid scheme.

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: An ancient massive construction with a square or rectangular base and four triangular sides meeting in an apex, such as those built as tombs in Egypt or as bases for temples in Mesoamerica.

Used this way, pyramid is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It turns up most in historical writing contexts.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Historical writing

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use pyramid

  • “We learned about the ancient pyramid structures in Egypt during our history class.”

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.