1
- a monumental structure with a square or triangular base and sloping sides that meet in a point at the top, especially one built of stone as a royal tomb in ancient Egypt金字塔; 锥形塔, 方尖塔（尤指古埃及的石砌王室墓）。
- Pyramids were built as tombs for Egyptian pharaohs from the 3rd dynasty （c.2649 BC） until c.1640 BC. The early step pyramid, with several levels and a flat top, developed into the true pyramid, such as the three largest at Giza near Cairo （the Pyramids, including the Great Pyramid of Cheops） which were one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Monuments of similar shape are associated with the Aztec and Maya civilizations of c.1200 BC-AD 750, and, like those in Egypt, were part of large ritual complexes.
2
- an object, shape, or arrangement with such a form金字塔状物体（或形状、排列）：
a pyramid of logs
堆成金字塔状的圆木
as modifier a pyramid roof.金字塔形的屋顶。
2.1
- Geometry a polyhedron of which one face is a polygon of any number of sides, and the other faces are triangles with a common vertex【几何】角锥（体）, 棱锥（体）：
a threesided pyramid.
三面棱锥。
2.2
- Anatomy a structure of more or less pyramidal form, especially in the brain or the renal medulla【剖】锥体。
2.3
- an organization or system that is structured with fewer people or things at each level as one approaches the top金字塔形组织（或体系）：
the lowest strata of the social pyramid.
金字塔形社会体系的最底层。
2.4
pyramids
a game played on a billiard table with fifteen coloured balls arranged in a triangle and a cue ball金字塔式台球。
3
- a system of financial growth achieved by a small initial investment, with subsequent investments being funded by using unrealized profits as collateral金字塔式控股。
3.1
- a form of investment in which each paying participant recruits two further participants, with returns being given to early participants using money contributed by later ones金字塔式投资方式。
with obj. chiefly N. Amer.
1
- heap or stack in the shape of a pyramid〈主北美〉把…堆成尖塔（或角锥）形：
debt was pyramided on top of unrealistic debt in an orgy of speculation.
本已债台高筑, 一阵疯狂的投机后更是雪上加霜。
2
- achieve a substantial return on (money or property) after making a small initial investment在（小投资）上获得丰厚的收益。
派生词
pyramidic
adjectivepyramidical
/ˌpɪrəˈmɪdɪkəl/ adjective词源
late Middle English (in the geometrical sense)： via Latin from Greek puramis, puramid-, of unknown ultimate origin.