pyramid scheme

[ pir-uh-mid skeem ]

noun

1. any moneymaking scheme, usually illicit, in which each participating investor recruits others and then collects from what those invest, so that an ever-increasing number of participants generate more and more profit for those who recruited them:

   She invited me to talk about a new "business opportunity," and ended up trying aggressively to hook me into a pyramid scheme.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pyramid scheme¹

First recorded in 1945–50