pyramid scheme

noun

Synonyms of pyramid schemenext
: a usually illegal operation in which participants pay to join and profit mainly from payments made by subsequent participants

Examples of pyramid scheme in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The film is a go-for-broke expression of wild imagination and social consciousness that’s impossible not to admire for its wacky, bold vision, with teleporting, high fashion snobbery and pyramid schemes. ABC News, 20 May 2026 Parenting was the ultimate pyramid scheme. Literary Hub, 9 Apr. 2026 Consumers were then recruited to join a pyramid scheme that sold credit repair services to others, costing them millions. Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 25 Mar. 2026 There’s, in fact, a lot of narrative chaos in the movie’s last third, from a pyramid scheme that ruins Junyang’s professional ego to the fact that Lydia, once she’s given birth, is basically cut out of the picture. Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pyramid scheme

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pyramid scheme was in 1949

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Cite this Entry

“Pyramid scheme.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pyramid%20scheme. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.

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