figure

FIG-yur/ˈfɪɡjɚ/UKFIG-uh/ˈfɪɡə/

Pluralfigures

Verbfigures, figuring, figured

30 meanings of figure

Practice

1
numbernouncountable
A number or amount, especially one written down or stated.
Company profits reached a record figure last quarter.
He quoted a figure of five thousand dollars for the repairs.
UsageOften a figure of + amount: a figure of $5,000. Six figures means a six-digit sum: a six-figure salary.
Similaramount, sum, number, total
2
understandverbtransitive
To come to understand something, especially after some thought or effort.
It took her a while to figure out why the engine kept stalling.
He figured out the trick before anyone else.
UsageUsually figure out: figure out why, how or what; figure it out (not ~~incorrect: figure out it~~).
Similarunderstand, fathom, grasp, crack
3
important personnouncountable
An individual, typically one who stands out as prominent, widely known or influential within a given field.
He remained a controversial figure in Washington long after he left office.
Leading figures from the tech industry met with lawmakers to discuss the new rules.
UsageUsually with an adjective: a public figure, a leading figure in jazz. Not the same as a figurehead, a leader without real power.
Similarpersonality, personage, luminary
4
supposeverbtransitive
To think, assume, or suppose.
I figure we'll arrive around noon if traffic stays light.
She figured he would be late, as usual.
UsageUsually followed by a clause, often with I: I figure we'll be late. A relaxed way to say suppose.
Similarreckon, suppose, guess, assume, think
Note
This sense has a long history: Shakespeare's Measure for Measure already has "Thou art alwayes figuring diseases in me." John B. Wright's Fire Scars (2023) shows a useful construction, figure someone for, meaning "take someone to be": "you figure me for a leftneck fool."
5
person in artnouncountable
A representation of a form made by drawing, painting, carving, or similar means, especially of the human body.
The sculptor carved a small figure from a block of marble.
Tiny figures of saints lined the chapel walls.
Similarstatue, figurine, statuette, image, effigy
Note
Shakespeare's coin "that bears the figure of an angel" shows the flat, stamped kind. The word stretches easily to the modern collectible, too, like the Godzilla figure a father gives a child.
6
diagramnouncountable
A drawing, chart, or diagram that presents information, often numbered for reference in a text.
The third figure in the report showed sales over five years.
Readers should consult the figure on page twelve.
UsageAs a label it takes a number and usually a capital: Figure 1, see Figure 3.
Similardiagram, chart, illustration, graph
Note
Late Latin had already stretched figūra to mean a sketch or drawing, and here that meaning is put to work in reports and papers. It stands beside the graph and the table as one of the ways a document shows its data rather than describing it.
7
body shapenouncountable
The shape or form of a human body, especially as clothing is fitted to it.
She has kept a slim figure well into her sixties.
The tailor adjusted the suit to match his figure.
UsageUsually with an adjective: a slim or good figure; keep your figure means stay slim.
Similarphysique, build, frame, form
8
shapenouncountable
A shape considered simply as a form, flat or solid, especially a geometric one such as a circle, triangle, or sphere, rather than a picture of something.
A triangle is a plane figure bounded by three straight sides.
Frost traced delicate figures across the window.
Similarshape, form, outline
Note
Geometry keeps it most alive: a plane figure is flat, and a solid figure has depth. Francis Bacon could say "Flowers have all exquisite figures." Algernon Blackwood's John Silence (1908) sets geometrical figures such as globes, triangles and crosses against human shapes, keeping the abstract outline apart from the shape of a body.
9
distant personnouncountable
A person of whom only the outline can be made out, because of distance or poor visibility.
Through the fog, she could just make out a figure waving from the end of the dock.
Distant figures moved slowly across the snowfield, too far away to recognize.
UsageOften with make out or glimpse and an adjective: a distant, shadowy or lone figure.
Similarshape, silhouette, form
Note
The word says only what can be seen, not who it is, which is why storytellers lean on it for suspense: a figure appears in the doorway, a hooded figure waits by the gate. Once the person is recognized, writers usually switch to a name or a pronoun.
10
calculateverbUStransitive
To calculate or work out a mathematical problem.
Let me figure the total before we pay.
He figured the costs on the back of an envelope.
UsageTakes the amount as object: figure the total, figure the costs. Elsewhere calculate or work out is usual.
Similarcalculate, compute, reckon, tally, solve
11
person as symbolnouncountable
A person or thing that represents or embodies an idea or quality.
The old king remained a figure of national unity.
In the novel, the stranger acts as a figure of pure reason.
UsageUsually a figure of + a quality or idea: a figure of hope, a figure of national unity.
Similarsymbol, embodiment, emblem, personification, icon
12
play a partverbintransitive
To be a part of something or play a role in it.
Honesty figures prominently in her approach to teaching.
Many forgotten heroes figure in the historian's account of the war.
UsageUsually figure in something, often with an adverb: figures prominently in, figures heavily in.
Similarfeature, appear

Less common meanings

13
make senseverbUSintransitive
To be reasonable or predictable; to make sense given the circumstances.
It figures that the printer breaks the moment a deadline arrives.
His story about losing the money on the bus just doesn't figure.
UsageUsually it figures, alone or with that, said wryly of something predictable and unwelcome. Also doesn't figure: makes no sense.
14
digitnouncountable
A written symbol representing a number; a numeral.
His handwritten figure 4 looked so much like a 9 that the bank clerk had to ask which he meant.
On the faded receipt, I could barely tell whether the last figure was a 3 or an 8.
UsageSet phrases: in double figures means from 10 to 99, in single figures below 10.
Similarnumeral, digit
15
metaphornouncountable
A distinctive use or arrangement of words for rhetorical effect, such as metaphor, simile, or anaphora.
Old handbooks of rhetoric list dozens of figures, from the everyday metaphor to rarer ones like anaphora, which repeats the same word at the start of each line.
In the second stanza the poet relies on the figure called personification, giving the wind a voice of its own.
UsageMost often in a figure of speech; alone, it mostly appears in writing about rhetoric or poetry.
Similartrope, conceit
Note
Rhetoric's use of the word is as old as the Latin, where figūra already meant a figure of speech. Macaulay's "to represent the imagination under the figure of a wing" shows the classic construction: under the figure of, meaning "in the image of."
16
dance movenouncountable
A complex movement or set of steps in a dance.
The caller announced the next figure for the square dance.
In the square dance, the caller announced each figure, and the couples swung and promenaded in turn.
Similarstep, move, movement, sequence
17
impressionnouncountable
The impression or appearance a person makes through their conduct or career.
He cut an impressive figure at the international conference.
By the end of the hearing, the once-confident minister cut a sorry figure, unable to explain where the money had gone.
UsageUsually cut a + adjective + figure: cut a fine figure, cut a sorry figure.
Similarpresence
Note
The sense lives mostly in idioms of display. You cut a sorry figure, or, in Dryden's Virgil (1697), you "made some figure there." Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England stretches it to standing and rank with "gentlemen of the best figure in the county."
18
musical phrasenouncountable
A short group of notes, often repeated, that forms a recognizable unit in a piece of music; a motif.
The bass figure anchors the entire improvisation.
Composers often build whole movements from a single figure.
Similarmotif
Note
In music analysis this is the smallest unit heard as one gesture: a few notes or chords, shorter than a phrase. George Grove's essays on Beethoven's symphonies, printed as a book in 1884, praise "a rapid, busy, and most melodious figure in the Violins." The word is often tied to an instrument and to an adjective of motion. A figure is often repeated, and kept up through a passage it can form an accompaniment pattern.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
A musical figure is a short musical unit, commonly smaller than a phrase. en.wikipedia.org
Beethoven's Nine Symphonies: Analytical Essays was first published in 1884; 1888 is a later edition. openlibrary.org
Grove praises the violin figure using the quoted wording. en.wiktionary.org
A figure can recur and can form a repeated accompaniment pattern; being stated only once is not a defining distinction. opentextbooks.org.hk
19
depictverbtransitive
To depict or represent something in a picture or drawing.
On the oldest vase found at the site, a line of dancers is figured in black against the red clay.
In the final panel of the series, the city is figured in ruins, its towers broken and its gates thrown open.
Similardepict, portray, represent, picture, illustrate
20
verbtransitive
To stand for or symbolize something by means of a metaphor.
The river figures time's relentless passage in much Romantic verse.
Ancient artists used the serpent to figure eternity and renewal.
Similarsymbolize, represent, signify
21
pattern (wood)nouncountable or uncountable
A visible pattern, such as the grain in wood or the weave in cloth.
The maple board showed a rippling figure under the finish.
The damask's woven figure caught the candlelight.
Similarpattern, grain, design
22
verbtransitive
To decorate or adorn something with designs or patterns.
The museum's oldest carpet is figured with lions and palm trees, its colors still bright after four hundred years.
The bride's jacket was figured with gold thread in a pattern of vines and flowers that her mother had designed.
Similardecorate, adorn, ornament
23
add ornamentsverbtransitive
To embellish a melody or passage with ornamental notes.
In the second variation, the theme is figured with rippling triplets, yet the original tune can still be heard beneath the ornament.
In this kind of organ piece, the hymn tune is figured with passing notes and turns while the lower parts keep a steady pulse.
Similarembellish, ornament
Note
In musical use, to figure a line is to decorate it with passing notes, runs and trills laid over a plain theme. It is the verb belonging to the ornamental figure. Keep it distinct from figuring a bass, which annotates the music rather than adding notes to it.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
In music, the verb figure can mean to embellish. en.wiktionary.org
Musical embellishment can involve passing notes and rapid ornamental passages. en.wikipedia.org
Runs and trills are examples of musical embellishment. en.wikipedia.org
This musical verb corresponds to the use of figures to ornament a melody. en.wikisource.org
Figuring a bass supplies notation indicating accompanying chords, rather than adding ornamental notes. en.wikisource.org
24
nounobsolete
Distinguished or magnificent appearance; conspicuous show or splendor.
that he may live in figure and indulgence
1729, William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life
Note
A word for show itself, now obsolete. William Law's A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (1729) speaks of living "in figure and indulgence," pairing splendor with luxury. Don't confuse it with the impression someone makes, which survives in cut a figure. Here the word needs no adjective, because it already means magnificence. Today, splendor or display does the job.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Figure has an obsolete sense meaning magnificence, splendour or show. en.wiktionary.org
William Law wrote A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life. ccel.org
Law uses the exact words 'in figure and indulgence', pairing conspicuous show with luxurious living. ccel.org
The sense meaning a person's appearance or impression is distinct and occurs in cut a figure. en.wiktionary.org
25
verbobsolete
To represent by a figure; to form, mold, or shape into a determinate form, whether physical or imagined.
If love, alas! be pain; the pain I bear, / No thought can figure, and no tongue declare.
1709, Matthew Prior, “Henry and Emma.”
Similarshape, mold, form, fashion, picture
Note
An obsolete sense that stays closest to the Latin root's molding and shaping, the same root behind the carved or modeled image. It covered the mind as well as the hands. Matthew Prior's "Henry and Emma" (1709) has "the pain I bear, / No thought can figure," meaning shaped in imagination. Today shape or imagine fills that slot.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
Figure shares a Latin ancestry associated with forming, shaping, and molding. en.wiktionary.org
The obsolete sense included both physical and imagined forms. en.wiktionary.org
Matthew Prior wrote Henry and Emma, which contains the quoted words, spoken by Emma about pain that thought cannot represent. eighteenthcenturypoetry.org
26
verbobsolete
To indicate or express something by means of numerals.
Note
Here the verb borrows the noun meaning a numeral: it means marking something with written numbers, not working them out. John Dryden's "figured hours," from an epitaph for a woman who died in 1698 (printed in 1700), are hours set out in numerals on a dial seen through crystal glass. A modern reader can easily mistake it for the calculating sense, which does the arithmetic instead of writing the digits. Outside older verse, "numbered" or "marked" is the safer choice.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
The noun figure can mean a numeral. en.wiktionary.org
This verb sense expresses representation using numerals. en.wiktionary.org
The calculating sense means performing arithmetic. en.wiktionary.org
1698 dates the monumental inscription; the poem was first printed in Fables Ancient and Modern in 1700. The date should distinguish those appearances. api.pageplace.de
John Dryden wrote the epitaph containing figured hours. bathabbey.org
The figured hours are numbered hours visible through a transparent clock covering. gutenberg.org
27
hint at futureverbobsolete
To prefigure or foreshow; to serve as a sign of something yet to come.
In this the heaven figures some event.
c. 1591, William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt,”
His loftie browes in foldes, do figure death, And in their ſmoothneſſe, amitie and life:
c. 1587, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. The First Part
Note
A verb of omens, used for whatever shows in advance what is coming. In Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great, frowning brows can "figure death." In Shakespeare's Third Part of Henry VI, at a sign in the sky, "the heaven figures some event." It takes the thing foretold as its direct object. Now prefigure or foreshadow does this work, and the bare verb would more likely be heard as the "come to understand" sense.
28
noun
A horoscope, especially the chart dividing the sky into astrological houses and showing the aspects between the planets.
its quality, like those of all the rest, is determined by its position in the house of the astrological figure
1889, Franz Hartmann, The Principles of Astrological Geomancy
29
noun
The form of a syllogism, determined by the position of the middle term across its premises.
30
verb
To write numerals or symbols above or below a bass line to indicate the chords that accompany it.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of figure apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Latin figūra ("form, shape") came from fingō ("to form, shape, mold"), and the word reached Middle English as figure by way of Old French figure. Its deeper root is the Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- ("to mold, shape, knead"), and it is related to Old English dāg ("dough").