Found 2 items, similar to pyramid scheme.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: pyramid scheme pyramid scheme n : 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
English → English (gcide) Definition: pyramid scheme 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]