food pyramid

noun

1

: an ecological hierarchy of food relationships in which a chief predator is at the top, each level preys on the next lower level, and usually green plants are at the bottom

2

: a pyramid-shaped depiction of recommended daily servings for different food groups (such as vegetables, grains, dairy products, and meats)

Examples of food pyramid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Kennedy is focusing on the administration’s new protein-forward food pyramid as opposed to vaccine talk, and border czar Tom Homan is at least as visible as Noem in immigration enforcement these days. —Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 25 Feb. 2026

The new food pyramid emphasizes full-fat dairy, Mokari said. —Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026

The old food pyramid adopted in 1992 placed the most emphasis on grains, including bread, cereal, rice and pasta. —Beth Reese Cravey, Florida Times-Union, 7 Feb. 2026

In Kennedy's food pyramid, protein takes center stage. —Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 7 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

food pyramid

noun

: a series of levels of ecological food relationships arranged by levels in which a chief predator is at the top, each level preys on the next lower level, and green plants are usually at the bottom