What does pyramid mean?
Word: Pyramid
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Pyramid means a solid shape with a flat base and sloping sides that meet at a point at the top. The huge stone buildings of this shape in ancient Egypt have the same name.
How do you spell pyramid?
Syllables: pyr - a - mid
Tricky part: The first vowel is a y, not an i. You hear a short i, so piramid is the usual slip.
Watch out for: piramid, pieramid
Memory tip: Imagine a tall y planted just after the p, its two arms reaching up towards the point at the top.
Pyramid in a sentence
Example 1: We cut out card shapes and taped them into a pyramid for our maths display.
Example 2: Meera stacked the oranges into a neat pyramid on the fruit stall.
Example 3: The guide told us how long it took to raise one pyramid in Egypt.
Fun Fact
The Great Pyramid near Cairo stayed the tallest thing people had ever built for well over 3,000 years.
Practise the CREST Way
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
yamprid 1234567
a) 4761253
b) 6143257
c) 2534761
d) 4152367
Show answer
d) 4152367. Read in this order, the seven letters give the solid shape with a point at the top.
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) monument
b) pyramed
c) palace
d) sculpture
Show answer
b) pyramed. The word ends in id, like the word mid; monument, sculpture and palace are all correct.
Spellacadabra
From which option does a letter need to be removed to make a meaningful word?
a) triangle
b) pyrramid
c) sphere
d) cylinder
Show answer
b) pyrramid. One r has to go, because this word has a single r.
Word Champ
Which of the words cannot be made using the letters in the given word?
pyramid
a) ramp
b) army
c) pride
d) dairy
Show answer
c) pride. There is no e in pyramid, so pride is out of reach.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. What flat shape is each sloping side of a pyramid?
a) an oval
b) a circle
c) a triangle
d) a square
Show answer
c) a triangle
2. A pyramid has a square base. How many corners does it have altogether?
a) four
b) five
c) eight
d) six
Show answer
b) five
