# figure

Pronunciation: US say "FIG-yur" /ˈfɪɡjɚ/; UK say "FIG-uh" /ˈfɪɡə/

## Noun

1. A number or amount, especially one written down or stated.
   - Simple: A number that shows an amount or value.
   - _Company profits reached a record figure last quarter._
   - _He quoted a figure of five thousand dollars for the repairs._
3. An individual, typically one who stands out as prominent, widely known or influential within a given field.
   - Simple: A person, most often one who is important, famous or powerful in some area of life or work.
   - _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._
5. A representation of a form made by drawing, painting, carving, or similar means, especially of the human body.
   - Simple: A model, drawing, or carving of something, especially of a person.
   - _The sculptor carved a small figure from a block of marble._
   - _Tiny figures of saints lined the chapel walls._
6. A drawing, chart, or diagram that presents information, often numbered for reference in a text.
   - Simple: A picture, chart, or diagram in a book or report that helps explain something.
   - _The third figure in the report showed sales over five years._
   - _Readers should consult the figure on page twelve._
7. The shape or form of a human body, especially as clothing is fitted to it.
   - Simple: The shape of a person's body.
   - _She has kept a slim figure well into her sixties._
   - _The tailor adjusted the suit to match his figure._
8. 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.
   - Simple: The outline or form of something you can see.
   - _A triangle is a plane figure bounded by three straight sides._
   - _Frost traced delicate figures across the window._
9. A person of whom only the outline can be made out, because of distance or poor visibility.
   - Simple: Someone you can see only as an outline, because the person is far away or hard to see well.
   - _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._
14. A written symbol representing a number; a numeral.
   - Simple: A written sign that stands for a number, such as 5 or 7.
   - _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._
11. A person or thing that represents or embodies an idea or quality.
   - Simple: A person or thing that stands for 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._
15. A distinctive use or arrangement of words for rhetorical effect, such as metaphor, simile, or anaphora.
   - Simple: A way of using or arranging words for effect, including metaphors, similes, and repetition.
   - _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._
16. A complex movement or set of steps in a dance.
   - Simple: A set movement or group 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._
17. The impression or appearance a person makes through their conduct or career.
   - Simple: The impression a person makes through how they act or what they achieve.
   - _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._
18. A short group of notes, often repeated, that forms a recognizable unit in a piece of music; a motif.
   - Simple: A short group of musical notes, often repeated, that you hear as one unit.
   - _The bass figure anchors the entire improvisation._
   - _Composers often build whole movements from a single figure._
21. A visible pattern, such as the grain in wood or the weave in cloth.
   - Simple: A pattern you can see in wood, cloth, or other material.
   - _The maple board showed a rippling figure under the finish._
   - _The damask's woven figure caught the candlelight._

## Verb

2. To come to understand something, especially after some thought or effort.
   - Simple: To come to understand something, often after thinking about it.
   - _It took her a while to figure out why the engine kept stalling._
   - _He figured out the trick before anyone else._
4. To think, assume, or suppose.
   - Simple: To think or believe that something is probably true.
   - _I figure we'll arrive around noon if traffic stays light._
   - _She figured he would be late, as usual._
13. To be reasonable or predictable; to make sense given the circumstances. *(US)*
   - Simple: To make sense or seem likely, based on what you know.
   - _It figures that the printer breaks the moment a deadline arrives._
   - _His story about losing the money on the bus just doesn't figure._
10. To calculate or work out a mathematical problem. *(US)*
   - Simple: To work out an answer using numbers.
   - _Let me figure the total before we pay._
   - _He figured the costs on the back of an envelope._
12. To be a part of something or play a role in it.
   - Simple: To be one of the parts of something, or to take part in it.
   - _Honesty figures prominently in her approach to teaching._
   - _Many forgotten heroes figure in the historian's account of the war._
19. To depict or represent something in a picture or drawing.
   - Simple: To show 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._
20. To stand for or symbolize something by means of a metaphor.
   - Simple: To stand for something else as a symbol or sign.
   - _The river figures time's relentless passage in much Romantic verse._
   - _Ancient artists used the serpent to figure eternity and renewal._
22. To decorate or adorn something with designs or patterns.
   - Simple: To decorate something with patterns or designs.
   - _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._
23. To embellish a melody or passage with ornamental notes.
   - Simple: To add fancy extra notes to a piece of music.
   - _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._

## Noun

24. Distinguished or magnificent appearance; conspicuous show or splendor. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A grand or impressive show in how someone looks or behaves.

## Verb

25. To represent by a figure; to form, mold, or shape into a determinate form, whether physical or imagined. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To shape something into a form, or to make an image of it.
26. To indicate or express something by means of numerals. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To show an amount by writing it in numbers.
27. To prefigure or foreshow; to serve as a sign of something yet to come. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To be a sign of something that will happen later.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A horoscope, especially the chart dividing the sky into astrological houses and showing the aspects between the planets.
- (noun) The form of a syllogism, determined by the position of the middle term across its premises.
- (verb) To write numerals or symbols above or below a bass line to indicate the chords that accompany 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").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/figure (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).