fig·ure (f g y r)n.1. a. A written or printed symbol representing something other than a letter, especially a number. b. figures Mathematical calculations: good at figures. c. An amount represented in numbers: sold for a large figure. 2. a. Mathematics A geometric form consisting of any combination of points, lines, or planes: A triangle is a plane figure. b. The outline, form, or silhouette of a thing. c. The shape or form of a human body. d. An indistinct object or shape: saw figures dashing down the street. 3. a. A person, especially a well-known one: a famous historical figure. b. A person's public image or presence: became a tragic figure overnight. 4. Impression or appearance made: cuts a dashing figure. 5. A person, animal, or object that symbolizes something. 6. A pictorial or sculptural representation, especially of the human body. 7. a. A diagram. b. A design or pattern, as in a textile: silk with a paisley figure. 8. An illustration printed from an engraved plate or block. 9. a. A configuration or distinct group of steps in a dance. b. A pattern traced by a series of movements, as in ice skating. 10. Music A brief melodic or harmonic unit often constituting the basis of a larger phrase or structure. 11. Logic Any one of the forms that a syllogism can take, depending on the position of the middle term. v. fig·ured, fig·ur·ing, fig·ures v.tr.1. Mathematics To calculate with numbers. 2. To make a likeness of; depict. 3. To adorn with a design or figures. 4. Music a. To write a sequence of conventionalized numbers below or above (the bass line) to indicate harmony. b. To embellish with an ornamental pattern. 5. Informal a. To conclude, believe, or predict: I never figured that this would happen. b. To consider or regard: figured them as con artists. v.intr.1. Mathematics To calculate; compute. 2. a. To be or seem important or prominent. b. To be pertinent or involved: politicians who figured in the scandal. 3. Informal To seem reasonable or expected: It figures. Phrasal Verbs: figure in To include, as in making an account: figured in travel expenses. figure on Informal 1. To depend on: We figured on your support. 2. To take into consideration; expect: I figured on an hour's delay. 3. To plan: We figure on leaving at noon. figure out Informal 1. To discover or decide: Let's figure out a way to help. 2. To solve or decipher: Can you figure out this puzzle?
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin fig ra; see dheigh- in Indo-European roots.]
figur·er n. Synonyms: figure, design, device, motif, pattern These nouns denote an element or a component in a decorative composition: a tapestry with a floral figure; a rug with a geometric design; a brooch with a fanciful and intricate device; a scarf with a heart motif; fabric with a plaid pattern. See Also Synonyms at calculate, form. |
figure Noun 1. a written symbol for a number 2. an amount expressed in numbers 3. figures calculations with numbers 4. visible shape or form; outline 5. a slim bodily shape: it's not good for your figure 6. a well-known person: a public figure 7. a representation in painting or sculpture, esp. of the human body 8. an illustration or diagram in a text 9. a decorative pattern 10. a fixed set of movements in dancing or skating 11. Geom any combination of points, lines, curves, or planes 12. Music a characteristic short pattern of notes 13. figure of fun a person who is often laughed at by other people Verb [-uring, -ured] 1. to calculate (sums or amounts) 2. US, Canad, Austral & NZ informal to consider 3. to be included or play a part: a house which figures in several of White's novels 4. Informal to be consistent with expectation: Small-time crook, earns most of his cash as an informer. – That figures [Latin figura a shape]
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. |  figure - a diagram or picture illustrating textual material; "the area covered can be seen from Figure 2"illustration - artwork that helps make something clear or attractive | | 2. |  figure - alternative names for the body of a human being; "Leonardo studied the human body"; "he has a strong physique"; "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"bod, chassis, human body, material body, physical body, physique, flesh, build, anatomy, frame, shape, soma, form human, human being, homo, man - any living or extinct member of the family Hominidae characterized by superior intelligence, articulate speech, and erect carriage person - a human body (usually including the clothing); "a weapon was hidden on his person" | | 3. |  figure - one of the elements that collectively form a system of numeration; "0 and 1 are digits"integer, whole number - any of the natural numbers (positive or negative) or zero; "an integer is a number that is not a fraction" significant digit, significant figure - any digit of a number that is known with certainty; any digit of a number beginning with the leftmost non-zero digit and ending with the rightmost non-zero digit (or a zero considered to be the exact value); "he calculated the answer to four significant figures" 1, ace, one, single, unity, I - the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number; "he has the one but will need a two and three to go with it"; "they had lunch at one" 2, II, two, deuce - the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number 3, deuce-ace, III, tercet, ternary, ternion, terzetto, three, threesome, trey, triad, trine, trinity, trio, triplet, troika, tierce, leash - the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one IV, Little Joe, quadruplet, quartet, quatern, 4, four, quaternion, quaternity, tetrad, foursome, quaternary - the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one 5, cinque, fin, five, fivesome, Little Phoebe, pentad, Phoebe, quint, quintuplet, quintet, V - the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one 6, Captain Hicks, half a dozen, hexad, sestet, sextuplet, sise, six, sixer, VI, sextet - the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one | | 4. | figure - a model of a bodily form (especially of a person); "he made a figure of Santa Claus"dummy - a figure representing the human form figurehead - figure on the bow of some sailing vessels simulation, model - representation of something (sometimes on a smaller scale) marionette, puppet - a small figure of a person operated from above with strings by a puppeteer snowman - a figure of a person made of packed snow | | 5. | figure - a well-known or notable person; "they studied all the great names in the history of France"; "she is an important figure in modern music" | | 6. | figure - a combination of points and lines and planes that form a visible palpable shapeshape, form - the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance; "geometry is the mathematical science of shape" pencil - a figure formed by a set of straight lines or light rays meeting at a point subfigure - a figure that is a part of another figure parallel - (mathematics) one of a set of parallel geometric figures (parallel lines or planes); "parallels never meet" | | 7. | figure - an amount of money expressed numerically; "a figure of $17 was suggested" | | 8. | figure - the impression produced by a person; "he cut a fine figure"; "a heroic figure"effect, impression - an outward appearance; "he made a good impression"; "I wanted to create an impression of success"; "she retained that bold effect in her reproductions of the original painting" | | 9. |  figure - the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals; "he had a number of chores to do"; "the number of parameters is small"; "the figure was about a thousand"amount - the relative magnitude of something with reference to a criterion; "an adequate amount of food for four people" preponderance, prevalence - a superiority in numbers or amount; "a preponderance of evidence against the defendant" bulk, majority - the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part; "the majority of his customers prefer it"; "the bulk of the work is finished" minority - being or relating to the smaller in number of two parts; "when the vote was taken they were in the minority"; "he held a minority position" fewness - the quality of being small in number roundness - the quality of being round numbers; "he gave us the results in round numbers, but their roundness didn't affect the point he was making" | | 10. | figure - language used in a figurative or nonliteral sensecakewalk - an easy accomplishment; "winning the tournament was a cakewalk for him"; "invading Iraq won't be a cakewalk" blind alley - (figurative) a course of action that is unproductive and offers no hope of improvement; "all the clues led the police into blind alleys"; "so far every road that we've been down has turned out to be a blind alley" megahit, smash hit, blockbuster - an unusually successful hit with widespread popularity and huge sales (especially a movie or play or recording or novel) sleeper - an unexpected hit; "that movie was the sleeper of the summer" home run, bell ringer, bull's eye, mark - something that exactly succeeds in achieving its goal; "the new advertising campaign was a bell ringer"; "scored a bull's eye"; "hit the mark"; "the president's speech was a home run" housecleaning - (figurative) the act of reforming by the removal of unwanted personnel or practices or conditions; "more housecleaning is in store at other accounting firms"; "many employees were discharged in a general housecleaning by the new owners" goldbrick - anything that is supposed to be valuable but turns out to be worthless lens - (metaphor) a channel through which something can be seen or understood; "the writer is the lens through which history can be seen" rhetorical device - a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance) conceit - an elaborate poetic image or a far-fetched comparison of very dissimilar things irony - a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs kenning - conventional metaphoric name for something, used especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry metaphor - a figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity metonymy - substituting the name of an attribute or feature for the name of the thing itself (as in `they counted heads') oxymoron - conjoining contradictory terms (as in `deafening silence') simile - a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with `like' or `as') synecdoche - substituting a more inclusive term for a less inclusive one or vice versa zeugma - use of a word to govern two or more words though appropriate to only one; "`Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave' is an example of zeugma" domino effect - the consequence of one event setting off a chain of similar events (like a falling domino causing a whole row of upended dominos to fall) flip side - a different aspect of something (especially the opposite aspect); "the flip side of your positive qualities sometimes get out of control"; "on the flip side of partnerships he talked about their competition" period - the end or completion of something; "death put a period to his endeavors"; "a change soon put a period to my tranquility" summer - the period of finest development, happiness, or beauty; "the golden summer of his life" dawn - an opening time period; "it was the dawn of the Roman Empire" evening - a later concluding time period; "it was the evening of the Roman Empire" rainy day - a (future) time of financial need; "I am saving for a rainy day" | | 11. | figure - a unitary percept having structure and coherence that is the object of attention and that stands out against a groundground - a relatively homogeneous percept extending back of the figure on which attention is focused | | 12. | figure - a decorative or artistic work; "the coach had a design on the doors"argyle, argyll - a design consisting of a pattern of varicolored diamonds on a solid background (originally for knitted articles); patterned after the tartan of a clan in western Scotland bear claw - an incised design resembling the claw of a bear; used in Native American pottery damascene - a design produced by inlaying gold or silver into steel decal, decalcomania - either a design that is fixed to some surface or a paper bearing the design which is to be transferred to the surface device - any ornamental pattern or design (as in embroidery) emblem - special design or visual object representing a quality, type, group, etc. herringbone pattern, herringbone - a pattern of columns of short parallel lines with all the lines in one column sloping one way and lines in adjacent columns sloping the other way; it is used in weaving, masonry, parquetry, embroidery linocut - a design carved in relief into a block of linoleum mandala - any of various geometric designs (usually circular) symbolizing the universe; used chiefly in Hinduism and Buddhism as an aid to meditation mihrab - (Islam) a design in the shape of niche in a Muslim prayer rug; during worship the niche must be pointed toward Mecca motif, motive - a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration polka dot - design consisting of a pattern of regularly spaced circular spots screen saver - (computer science) a moving design that appears on a computer screen when there has been no input for a specified period of time; "screen savers prevent the damage that occurs when the same areas of light and dark are displayed too long" sunburst - a design consisting of a central disk resembling the sun and rays emanating from it tattoo - a design on the skin made by tattooing tetraskele, tetraskelion - a figure consisting of four stylized human arms or legs (or bent lines) radiating from a center triskele, triskelion - a figure consisting of three stylized human arms or legs (or three bent lines) radiating from a center weave - pattern of weaving or structure of a fabric | | 13. | figure - a predetermined set of movements in dancing or skating; "she made the best score on compulsory figures"maneuver, manoeuvre, play - a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity and skill; "he made a great maneuver"; "the runner was out on a play by the shortstop" spread eagle - a skating figure executed with the skates heel to heel in a straight line | | Verb | 1. | figure - judge to be probablepass judgment, evaluate, judge - form a critical opinion of; "I cannot judge some works of modern art"; "How do you evaluate this grant proposal?" "We shouldn't pass judgment on other people" take into account, allow - allow or plan for a certain possibility; concede the truth or validity of something; "I allow for this possibility"; "The seamstress planned for 5% shrinkage after the first wash" | | 2. | figure - be or play a part of or in; "Elections figure prominently in every government program"; "How do the elections figure in the current pattern of internal politics?"be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer" | | 3. |  figure - imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind; "I can't see him on horseback!"; "I can see what will happen"; "I can see a risk in this strategy"realize, see, understand, realise - perceive (an idea or situation) mentally; "Now I see!"; "I just can't see your point"; "Does she realize how important this decision is?"; "I don't understand the idea" visualise, visualize - form a mental picture of something that is invisible or abstract; "Mathematicians often visualize" conceive of, envisage, ideate, imagine - form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case; "Can you conceive of him as the president?" | | 4. | figure - make a mathematical calculation or computationmath, mathematics, maths - a science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement reason - think logically; "The children must learn to reason" quantise, quantize - apply quantum theory to; restrict the number of possible values of (a quantity) or states of (a physical entity or system) so that certain variables can assume only certain discrete magnitudes that are integral multiples of a common factor; "Quantize gravity" work out - be calculated; "The fees work out to less than $1,000" extract - calculate the root of a number process - perform mathematical and logical operations on (data) according to programmed instructions in order to obtain the required information; "The results of the elections were still being processed when he gave his acceptance speech" prorate - divide or assess proportionally; "The rent was prorated for the rest of the month" recalculate - calculate anew; "The costs had to be recalculated" add together, add - make an addition by combining numbers; "Add 27 and 49, please!" multiply - combine by multiplication; "multiply 10 by 15" integrate - calculate the integral of; calculate by integration solve, resolve - find the solution; "solve an equation"; "solve for x" figure out, puzzle out, solve, lick, work out, work - find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of; "did you solve the problem?"; "Work out your problems with the boss"; "this unpleasant situation isn't going to work itself out"; "did you get it?"; "Did you get my meaning?"; "He could not work the math problem" | | 5. | figure - understand; "He didn't figure her"colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech |
figure noun 4. personage, force, face ( informal) leader, person, individual, character, presence, somebody, personality, celebrity, worthy, notable, big name, dignitary, notability verb 9. (usually with in) feature, act, appear, contribute to, be included, be mentioned, play a part, be featured, have a place in, be conspicuous figure on something U.S., Canada, N.Z. ( informal) plan on, depend on, rely on, count on, bargain on figure something or someone out understand, make out, fathom, make head or tail of ( informal) see, solve, resolve, comprehend, make sense of, decipher, think through, suss (out) ( slang)  Translations figure [ˈfɪgəʳ] n ( DRAWING, GEOM) → figura, dibujo (= number, cipher); cifra (= person, outline); figura (= body shape); línea: ( attractive) → tipovt ( esp US) (= think, calculate); calcular, imaginarse figure of speech ( LING) → figura retórica;
 figure [ˈfɪgəʳ] n ( Drawing, Geom) → figure f (= number); chiffre m (= body, outline); silhouette f (= person's shape); ligne f, formes fpl (= person); personnage mfigure on vt fus (US);
 figure [ˈfɪgəʳ] n → Figur f; ( number, statistic, cipher) → Zahl f;
 figure [ˈfɪgəʳ] n ( DRAWING, GEOM), (= person); figura (= number, cipher); cifra (= body, outline); formafigure of speech → figura retorica
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