pyramid
/ˈpɪ.ɹə.mɪd/
"pyramid" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“pyramid” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,428 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #10,428
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - 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.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pyramid |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpɪ.ɹə.mɪd/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #10,428 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “pyramid” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for pyramid is 7 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈpɪ.ɹə.mɪd/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,428 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 10 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for pyramid, with forms such as "ppyramid", "pryamid", and "pyarmid". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "pyramidal", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French pyramide, from Old French piramide, from Latin pȳramis, pȳramidis, from Ancient Greek πῡραμίς (pūramís), possibly from πῡρός (pūrós, “wheat”) + ἀμάω (amáō, “reap”) or from Egyptian pr-m-ws (“height of a pyramid”), from pr (“(one that) comes fort… The correct English form is pyramid, spelled P-Y-R-A-M-I-D.
Definition
- 1An 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.
- 2A construction in the shape of a pyramid, usually with a square or rectangular base.
- 3A solid with triangular lateral faces and a polygonal (often square or rectangular) base.
- 4Any structure or diagram with many members at the bottom and progressively fewer towards the top.
- 5A medullary pyramid, the medial-most bumps on the ventral side of the medulla oblongata
- 6The game of pool in which the balls are placed in the form of a triangle at spot.
- 7A pyramid scheme.
- 8Alternative letter-case form of Pyramid. (a solitaire card game)
- 9The triangular layout of cards in the game of Pyramid.
- 10An approximately triangular headline consisting of several centered lines of text of increasing length.
Etymology
From French pyramide, from Old French piramide, from Latin pȳramis, pȳramidis, from Ancient Greek πῡραμίς (pūramís), possibly from πῡρός (pūrós, “wheat”) + ἀμάω (amáō, “reap”) or from Egyptian pr-m-ws (“height of a pyramid”), from pr (“(one that) comes forth”) + m (“from”) + ws (“height”). Schenkel and K. Lang proposed hypothetical Coptic *ⲡⲓⲣⲁⲙ (*piram) or *ⲫⲣⲁⲙ (*phram) derived from Egyptian mr via metathesis as a source of πῡραμίς (pūramís) while Schenkel also suggested it being the source of Arabic هَرَم (haram) although the latter is considered far-fetched by Takacs.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ppyramid,pryamid,pyarmid,pyraimd,pyramdi,pyramidd,pyrammid,pyrmaid,pyrramid,pyyramid,ypramid
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of pyramid - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "pyramid"?
What does "pyramid" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "pyramid"?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “pyramid”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-Y-R-A-M-I-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈpɪ.ɹə.mɪd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “pyramidal” - see the side-by-side comparison. pyramid vs pyramidal
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.