FIGURE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does figure mean? 

• FIGURE (noun)
  The noun FIGURE has 13 senses:

1. a diagram or picture illustrating textual material

2. alternative names for the body of a human being

3. one of the elements that collectively form a system of numeration

4. a model of a bodily form (especially of a person)

5. a well-known or notable person

6. a combination of points and lines and planes that form a visible palpable shape

7. an amount of money expressed numerically

8. the impression produced by a person

9. the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals

10. language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense

11. a unitary percept having structure and coherence that is the object of attention and that stands out against a ground

12. a decorative or artistic work

13. a predetermined set of movements in dancing or skating

  Familiarity information: FIGURE used as a noun is familiar.

• FIGURE (verb)
  The verb FIGURE has 5 senses:

1. judge to be probable

2. be or play a part of or in

3. imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind

4. make a mathematical calculation or computation

5. understand

  Familiarity information: FIGURE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FIGURE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A diagram or picture illustrating textual material

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

fig; figure

Context example:

the area covered can be seen from Figure 2

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

illustration (artwork that helps make something clear or attractive)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Alternative names for the body of a human being

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

anatomy; bod; build; chassis; figure; flesh; form; frame; human body; material body; physical body; physique; shape; soma

Context example:

the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

body; organic structure (the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "figure"):

female body (the body of a female human being)

person (a human body (usually including the clothing))

juvenile body (the body of a young person)

adult body (the body of an adult human being)

male body (the body of a male human being)

Holonyms ("figure" is a part of...):

homo; human; human being; man (any living or extinct member of the family Hominidae characterized by superior intelligence, articulate speech, and erect carriage)

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Sense 3

Meaning:

One of the elements that collectively form a system of numeration

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

digit; figure

Context example:

0 and 1 are digits

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

integer; whole number (any of the natural numbers (positive or negative) or zero)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "figure"):

2; deuce; II; two (the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number)

9; ennead; IX; Nina from Carolina; nine; niner (the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one)

8; eight; eighter; eighter from Decatur; octad; octet; octonary; ogdoad; VIII (the cardinal number that is the sum of seven and one)

7; heptad; septenary; septet; seven; sevener; VII (the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one)

6; Captain Hicks; half a dozen; hexad; sestet; sextet; sextuplet; sise; six; sixer; VI (the cardinal number that is the sum of five and one)

5; cinque; fin; five; fivesome; Little Phoebe; pentad; Phoebe; quint; quintet; quintuplet; V (the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one)

4; four; foursome; IV; Little Joe; quadruplet; quartet; quatern; quaternary; quaternion; quaternity; tetrad (the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one)

3; deuce-ace; III; leash; tercet; ternary; ternion; terzetto; three; threesome; tierce; trey; triad; trine; trinity; trio; triplet; troika (the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one)

1; ace; I; one; single; unity (the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number)

0; cipher; cypher; nought; zero (a mathematical element that when added to another number yields the same number)

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))

hexadecimal digit (a digit from 0 to 15 in hexadecimal notation)

duodecimal digit (a digit from 0 to 11 in duodecimal notation)

decimal digit (a digit from 0 to 9 in decimal notation)

octal digit (a digit from 0 to 7 in octal notation)

binary digit (either 0 or 1 in binary notation)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A model of a bodily form (especially of a person)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

he made a figure of Santa Claus

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

model; simulation (representation of something (sometimes on a smaller scale))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "figure"):

figurine; statuette (a small carved or molded figure)

snowman (a figure of a person made of packed snow)

marionette; puppet (a small figure of a person operated from above with strings by a puppeteer)

dummy (a figure representing the human form)

figurehead (figure on the bow of some sailing vessels)

Instance hyponyms:

Trojan Horse; Wooden Horse (a large hollow wooden figure of a horse (filled with Greek soldiers) left by the Greeks outside Troy during the Trojan War)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A well-known or notable person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

figure; name; public figure

Context example:

she is an important figure in modern music

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

important person; influential person; personage (a person whose actions and opinions strongly influence the course of events)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A combination of points and lines and planes that form a visible palpable shape

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

form; shape (the spatial arrangement of something as distinct from its substance)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "figure"):

parallel ((mathematics) one of a set of parallel geometric figures (parallel lines or planes))

subfigure (a figure that is a part of another figure)

plane figure; two-dimensional figure (a two-dimensional shape)

pencil (a figure formed by a set of straight lines or light rays meeting at a point)

equilateral (a figure whose sides are all equal)

solid figure; three-dimensional figure (a three-dimensional shape)

Sense 7

Meaning:

An amount of money expressed numerically

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Context example:

a figure of $17 was suggested

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

amount; amount of money; sum; sum of money (a quantity of money)

Derivation:

figure (make a mathematical calculation or computation)

Sense 8

Meaning:

The impression produced by a person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

a heroic figure

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

effect; impression (an outward appearance)

Sense 9

Meaning:

The property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

figure; number

Context example:

the figure was about a thousand

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

amount (the relative magnitude of something with reference to a criterion)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "figure"):

multiplicity; numerosity; numerousness (a large number)

preponderance; prevalence (a superiority in numbers or amount)

countlessness; innumerableness (a number beyond counting)

bulk; majority (the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part)

minority (being or relating to the smaller in number of two parts)

fewness (the quality of being small in number)

roundness (the quality of being round numbers)

Derivation:

figure (make a mathematical calculation or computation)

Sense 10

Meaning:

Language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

figure; figure of speech; image; trope

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

rhetorical device (a use of language that creates a literary effect (but often without regard for literal significance))

Domain member usage:

cakewalk (an easy accomplishment)

blind alley ((figurative) a course of action that is unproductive and offers no hope of improvement)

blockbuster; megahit; smash hit (an unusually successful hit with widespread popularity and huge sales (especially a movie or play or recording or novel))

sleeper (an unexpected hit)

bell ringer; bull's eye; home run; mark (something that exactly succeeds in achieving its goal)

housecleaning ((figurative) the act of reforming by the removal of unwanted personnel or practices or conditions)

goldbrick (anything that is supposed to be valuable but turns out to be worthless)

helm ((figurative) a position of leadership)

lens ((metaphor) a channel through which something can be seen or understood)

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))

period (the end or completion of something)

summer (the period of finest development, happiness, or beauty)

dawn (an opening time period)

evening (a later concluding time period)

rainy day (a (future) time of financial need)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "figure"):

zeugma (use of a verb with two or more complements, playing on the verb's polysemy, for humorous effect)

synecdoche (substituting a more inclusive term for a less inclusive one or vice versa)

simile (a figure of speech that expresses a resemblance between things of different kinds (usually formed with 'like' or 'as'))

personification; prosopopoeia (representing an abstract quality or idea as a person or creature)

oxymoron (conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence'))

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'))

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)

exaggeration; hyperbole (extravagant exaggeration)

Sense 11

Meaning:

A unitary percept having structure and coherence that is the object of attention and that stands out against a ground

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

percept; perception; perceptual experience (the representation of what is perceived; basic component in the formation of a concept)

Antonym:

ground (a relatively homogeneous percept extending back of the figure on which attention is focused)

Sense 12

Meaning:

A decorative or artistic work

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

design; figure; pattern

Context example:

the coach had a design on the doors

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

decoration; ornament; ornamentation (something used to beautify)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "figure"):

polka dot (design consisting of a pattern of regularly spaced circular spots)

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)

marking (a pattern of marks)

weave (pattern of weaving or structure of a fabric)

triskele; triskelion (a figure consisting of three stylized human arms or legs (or three bent lines) radiating from a center)

tetraskele; tetraskelion (a figure consisting of four stylized human arms or legs (or bent lines) radiating from a center)

tattoo (a design on the skin made by tattooing)

sunburst (a design consisting of a central disk resembling the sun and rays emanating from it)

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)

pyrograph (a design produced by pyrography)

motif; motive (a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration)

mihrab ((Islam) a design in the shape of niche in a Muslim prayer rug; during worship the niche must be pointed toward Mecca)

mandala (any of various geometric designs (usually circular) symbolizing the universe; used chiefly in Hinduism and Buddhism as an aid to meditation)

linocut (a design carved in relief into a block of linoleum)

herringbone; herringbone pattern (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)

emblem (special design or visual object representing a quality, type, group, etc.)

device (any ornamental pattern or design (as in embroidery))

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)

damascene (a design produced by inlaying gold or silver into steel)

bear claw (an incised design resembling the claw of a bear; used in Native American pottery)

Sense 13

Meaning:

A predetermined set of movements in dancing or skating

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

she made the best score on compulsory figures

Hypernyms ("figure" is a kind of...):

maneuver; manoeuvre; play (a deliberate coordinated movement requiring dexterity and skill)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "figure"):

spread eagle (a skating figure executed with the skates heel to heel in a straight line)

figure eight (a skating figure that carves an 8 in the ice)

• FIGURE (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Judge to be probable

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

calculate; count on; estimate; figure; forecast; reckon

Hypernyms (to "figure" is one way to...):

evaluate; judge; pass judgment (form a critical opinion of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "figure"):

allow; take into account (allow or plan for a certain possibility; concede the truth or validity of something)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be or play a part of or in

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

enter; figure

Context example:

How do the elections figure in the current pattern of internal politics?

Hypernyms (to "figure" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 3

Meaning:

Imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

envision; fancy; figure; image; picture; project; see; visualise; visualize

Context example:

I can see a risk in this strategy

Hypernyms (to "figure" is one way to...):

conceive of; envisage; ideate; imagine (form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case)

Verb group:

realise; realize; see; understand (perceive (an idea or situation) mentally)

visualise; visualize (form a mental picture of something that is invisible or abstract)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

figuration (representing figuratively as by emblem or allegory)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make a mathematical calculation or computation

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

calculate; cipher; compute; cypher; figure; reckon; work out

Hypernyms (to "figure" is one way to...):

reason (think logically)

Verb group:

work out (be calculated)

Domain category:

math; mathematics; maths (a science (or group of related sciences) dealing with the logic of quantity and shape and arrangement)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "figure"):

deduct; subtract; take off (make a subtraction)

resolve; solve (find the solution)

capitalise; capitalize (compute the present value of a business or an income)

budget (make a budget)

approximate; estimate; gauge; guess; judge (judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time))

survey (plot a map of (land))

integrate (calculate the integral of; calculate by integration)

differentiate (calculate a derivative; take the derivative)

extrapolate; interpolate (estimate the value of)

divide; fraction (perform a division)

multiply (combine by multiplication)

add; add together (make an addition by combining numbers)

factor; factor in; factor out (resolve into factors)

average; average out (compute the average of)

recalculate (calculate anew)

miscalculate; misestimate (calculate incorrectly)

prorate (divide or assess proportionally)

process (perform mathematical and logical operations on (data) according to programmed instructions in order to obtain the required information)

extract (calculate the root of a number)

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)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Also:

figure out (find the solution to (a problem or question) or understand the meaning of)

Derivation:

figure (the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals)

figure (an amount of money expressed numerically)

figurer (an expert at calculation (or at operating calculating machines))

figuring (problem solving that involves numbers or quantities)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Understand

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

He didn't figure her

Hypernyms (to "figure" is one way to...):

apprehend; compass; comprehend; dig; get the picture; grasp; grok; savvy (get the meaning of something)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

 Context examples 

Terribly disappointed, you figure that’s that and close the door on that opportunity.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

She thought she must have been mistaken at first, for none of the scarecrows in Kansas ever wink; but presently the figure nodded its head to her in a friendly way.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

She thought for a moment and said: “Dear father, I wish for eleven girls exactly like myself in face, figure, and size.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

He stood, a forlorn figure, in the middle of the road, watching until Martin turned a bend and was gone from sight.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The servants cut our bread into cones, cylinders, parallelograms, and several other mathematical figures.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

A new Moon occurs when all of the Sun’s light is reflected away from Earth, and the side of the Moon facing Earth is barely visible, as illustrated in the above figures.

(Earthshine, NASA)

Atypical mitotic figures are often present.

(Anaplastic Carcinoma Cell, NCI Thesaurus)

Histologically the tumors are highly cellular with nuclear and cellular pleomorphism, endothelial proliferation, mitotic figures, and, often, necrosis.

(Adult Spinal Cord Glioblastoma, NCI Thesaurus)

PGR figures were 0.72% in 2006-2007, 0.76% in 2007-2008 and 0.8% in 2008-2009.

(Is the Global Crisis Triggering Basic Instincts?, BOGDAN FLORIN PAUL)

A straight line through a body or figure that satisfies certain conditions.

(Axis, NCI Thesaurus)