pyramid scheme

2 definitions found

pyramid scheme - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Pyramid \Pyr"a*mid\, n. [L. pyramis, -idis, fr. Gr. ?, ?, of
     Egyptian origin: cf. F. pyramide.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A solid body standing on a triangular, square, or
        polygonal base, and terminating in a point at the top;
        especially, a structure or edifice of this shape.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Geom.) A solid figure contained by a plane rectilineal
        figure as base and several triangles which have a common
        vertex and whose bases are sides of the base.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. pl. (Billiards) The game of pool in which the balls are
        placed in the form of a triangle at spot. [Eng.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Finance) a fraudulent investment scheme in which the
        manager promises high profits, but instead of investing
        the money in a genuine profit-making activity, uses the
        money from later investors to pay the profits to earlier
        investors; -- also called pyramid scheme or pyramid  operation
        . This process inevitably collapses when
        insufficient new investors are available, leaving the
        later investors with total or near-total losses of their
        investments. The managers usually blame government
        regulations or interference for the collapse of the
        scheme, rather than admit fraud.
        [PJC]
  
     Altitude of a pyramid (Geom.), the perpendicular distance
        from the vertex to the plane of the base.
  
     Axis of a pyramid (Geom.), a straight line drawn from the
        vertex to the center of the base.
  
     Earth pyramid. (Geol.) See Earth pillars, under Earth.
        
  
     Right pyramid (Geom.) a pyramid whose axis is perpendicular
        to the base.
        [1913 Webster]

pyramid scheme - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  pyramid scheme
      n 1: a fraudulent scheme in which people are recruited to make
           payments to the person who recruited them while expecting
           to receive payments from the persons they recruit; when the
           number of new recruits fails to sustain the hierarchical
           payment structure the scheme collapses with most of the
           participants losing the money they put in