figure

noun

• 1a number, especially one that forms part of official statistics or relates to the financial performance of a company:official census figures a figure of 30,000 deaths annually from snakebite
• a numerical symbol, especially any of the ten in Arabic notation:the figure 7
• one of a specified number of digits making up a larger number, used to give a rough idea of the order of magnitude:their market price runs into five figures [in combination]:a six-figure salary
• an amount of money:a figure of two thousand dollars
• (figures) arithmetical calculations:she has no head for figures

• 2a person’s bodily shape, especially that of a woman and when considered to be attractive:she had always been so proud of her figure
• a person seen indistinctly, especially at a distance:a backpacked figure appeared in the distance
• a person of a particular kind, especially one who is important or distinctive in some way:Williams became something of a cult figure
• a representation of a human or animal form in drawing or sculpture:starkly painted figures

• 3a shape defined by one or more lines in two dimensions (such as a circle or a triangle), or one or more surfaces in three dimensions (such as a sphere or a cuboid), either considered mathematically in geometry or used as a decorative design:a red ground with white and blue geometric figures
• a diagram or illustrative drawing, especially in a book or magazine:figure 1 shows an ignition circuit
• Figure Skating a movement or series of movements following a prescribed pattern and often beginning and ending at the same point.
• a pattern formed by the movements of a group of people, for example in square dancing or synchronized swimming, as part of a longer dance or display.
• archaic the external form or shape of a thing.

• 4 Music a short succession of notes producing a single impression.

• 5 Logic the form of a syllogism, classified according to the position of the middle term.

verb

• 1be a significant and noticeable part of something:the issue of nuclear policy figured prominently in the talks
• (of a person) play a significant role in a situation or event:he figured largely in opposition to the bill
• (of a fictional character) play a part in a novel, play, or movie:the four characters who figure in Ridley’s play

• 2 [with object] North American calculate or work out (an amount or value) arithmetically.

• 3 [with clause] informal, chiefly North American think, consider, or expect to be the case:I figure that wearing a suit makes you look like a bank clerk [with object]:for years, teachers had figured him for a dullard
• (of a recent event or newly discovered fact) be logical and unsurprising:well, she supposed that figured

• 4 [with object] represent (something) in a diagram or picture:varieties of this Cape genus are figured from drawings made there
• (usually as adjective figured) embellish (something) with a pattern:the floors were covered with figured linoleum