figure
[noun]
Synonyms:
- number, character, digit, numeral, symbol
- amount, cost, price, sum, total, value
- shape, body, build, frame, physique, proportions
- diagram, design, drawing, illustration, pattern, representation, sketch
- character, big name, celebrity, dignitary, personality
[verb]
Synonyms:
- calculate, compute, count, reckon, tally, tot up, work out
- usually with in: feature, act, appear, be featured, contribute to, play a part

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Related Words: character, symbol, delineation, appearance, build, frame, physique, decoration, embellishment, ornamentation, count, enumerate, number

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English Thesaurus: body, figure, build, physique, corpse, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. fig‧ure¹ S1 W1 /ˈfɪɡə $ ˈfɪɡjər/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: French; Origin: Latin figura, from fingere 'to shape, make']

1. NUMBER
a) [usually plural] a number representing an amount, especially an official number
unemployment/sales/trade figures
Ohio’s unemployment figures for December
Government figures underestimate the problem.
It’s about 30,000 in round figures (=to the nearest 10, 20, 100 etc).
b) a number from 0 to 9, written as a character rather than a word:
the figure ‘2’
executives with salaries in six figures (=more than £99,999)
a four/five/six figure number (=a number in the thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands etc) ⇒ double figures, single figures

2. AMOUNT OF MONEY a particular amount of money
figure of
an estimated figure of $200 million

3. PERSON
a) someone who is important or famous in some way
a leading/key/central figure
Several leading figures resigned from the party.
the outstanding political figure of his time
b) someone with a particular type of appearance or character, especially when they are far away or difficult to see:
a tall figure in a hat
Through the window I could see the commanding figure of Mrs Bradshaw. ⇒ cult figure at cult²

4. WOMAN’S BODY the shape of a woman’s body:
She has a good figure.
keep/lose your figure (=stay thin or become fat)
Most women have to watch their figure (=be careful not to get fat).

5. father/mother/authority figure someone who is considered to be like a father etc, or to represent authority, because of their character or behaviour

6. figures [plural] British English the activity of adding, multiplying etc numbers Synonym : arithmetic:
a natural ability with figures
have a head for figures (=be good at arithmetic)

7. MATHEMATICAL SHAPE a geometric shape:
A hexagon is a six-sided figure.

8. PAINTING/MODEL a person in a painting or a model of a person:
the figure in the background ⇒ figurine

9. DRAWING (written abbreviation fig.) a numbered drawing or a diagram in a book

10. put a figure on it/give an exact figure to say exactly how much something is worth, or how much or how many of something you are talking about:
It’s worth a lot but I couldn’t put a figure on it.

11. a fine figure of a man/woman someone who is tall and has a good body

12. a figure of fun someone who people laugh at

13. ON ICE a pattern or movement in figure skating

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. figure² S1 W3 verb

1. [intransitive] to be an important part of a process, event, or situation, or to be included in something
figure in/among
Social issues figured prominently in the talks.
My wishes didn’t figure among his considerations.
Reform now figures high on the agenda.

2. [transitive] informal to form a particular opinion after thinking about a situation
figure (that)
From the way he behaved, I figured that he was drunk.
It was worth the trouble, I figured.

3. that figures/(it) figures spoken especially American English
a) used to say that something that happens is expected or typical, especially something bad:
‘It rained the whole weekend.’ ‘Oh, that figures.’
b) used to say that something is reasonable or makes sense:
It figures that she’d be mad at you, after what you did.

4. go figure American English spoken said to show that you think something is strange or difficult to explain:
‘He didn’t even leave a message.’ ‘Go figure.’

5. [transitive] American English to calculate an amount Synonym : work out:
I’m just figuring my expenses.
figure on something phrasal verb informal especially American English
to expect something or include it in your plans:
She was younger than any of us had figured on.
figure somebody/something ↔ out phrasal verb

1. to think about a problem or situation until you find the answer or understand what has happened Synonym : work out
figure out how/what/why etc
Can you figure out how to do it?
If I have a map, I can figure it out.
Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out (=find a way to solve the problem).

2. to understand why someone behaves in the way they do Synonym : work out:
Women. I just can’t figure them out.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

figure
noun
I. amount/price
ADJ. high | low | double, single | accurate, exact | approximate, ballpark, rough, round | real, reliable, true | official | latest | inflated | target | sales, trade, unemployment, viewing, etc.
VERB + FIGURE reach The rate of inflation has now reached double figures.
add (together/up) | release The government has just released new unemployment figures.
FIGURE + VERB add up These figures don't add up.
be bandied about Lots of different figures were being bandied about.
PHRASES according to (the) figures The industry remains in the doldrums, according to official figures out today.
in round figures 2 figures arithmetic
PHRASES good/bad at figures I was never very good at figures.
have a head for figures

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

figure
III. person
ADJ. great | central, important, influential, key, leading, prominent, respected, well-known a key figure on the committee
public | national | senior | familiar He was a familiar figure in the local pub.
unlikely They were visited by the unlikely figure of Bill Clinton.
authority, dominant | father, mother, parental | tragic | comic, ridiculous | cult, legendary | historical | political, religious | government, opposition
PREP. ~ of a figure of authority/fun

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

figure
IV. shape of a person
ADJ. life-size | dark, shadowy | seated, standing, etc. The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over.
central the central figure in the photo
solitary | human
FIGURE + NOUN painter, painting

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

figure
V. shape of sb's body
ADJ. beautiful, fine, good, handsome, hour-glass, lovely She's still got a lovely figure.
slender, slim | ample, bulky, full, large, stocky | tall | dashing, imposing, striking | neat, slight, small, tiny, trim | lithe
VERB + FIGURE cut, have He cut a dashing figure in his uniform.
keep She's kept her figure after all these years.
watch You need to watch your figure.
lose
PHRASES a fine figure of a man/woman

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

figure
VI. picture/diagram
VERB + FIGURE see See Figure 8.
FIGURE + VERB show sth

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

figure
verb
ADV. largely, prominently, significantly, strongly | hardly, scarcely Vegetables hardly figure at all in their diet.
PREP. among This man did not figure among the suspects.
in The issue figured prominently in our discussion.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

figure

high/low
The figures are worryingly high.
sales figures
We exceeded our target sales figures.
unemployment figures
There have been changes in the way the unemployment figures are calculated.
trade figures (=showing the value of a country's exports compared to imports)
Trade figures showed a slump last month.
government figures (=figures produced by the government)
Government figures suggest a moderate recovery in consumer spending.
official figures
According to official figures, two million houses in England are inadequately heated.
the latest figures
The latest figures show that crimes are down by 0.2 percent.
the exact figure
The government was unable to give the exact figure for the number of foreign workers in the country.
an approximate/rough figure
He gave us an approximate figure for the cost of the repairs.
a ballpark figure informal (=one that is not exact)
Can you give me a ballpark figure of the likely price?
reach double/six etc figures (=be 10 or more/100,000 or more etc)
The death toll in the region has reached five figures.
add up the figures
I must have made a mistake when I added up the figures.
release the figures (=make them public)
The company will release the sales figures later this week.
in single figures (=less than 10)
Women heads of department are in single figures.
in double figures (=between 10 and 99)
Only two of the group had scores in double figures.
in round figures (=to the nearest 10, 20, 100 etc)
In round figures, about 20 million people emigrated from Europe during that period.
according to the figures
According to official figures, exam results have improved again this year.
a four/five/six etc figure number (=a number in the thousands/ten thousands/hundred thousands etc)
Choose a four figure number that you can easily remember.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

body the shape, size, and appearance of someone’s body:
Many women are not happy with their bodies.
His clothes emphasized his strong body.
figure a woman’s figure is the shape of her body – used especially when it is attractive:
She has a really nice figure.
Freya had an enviably slim figure.
build the size and shape of someone’s body – used in the following phrases:
Police described the man as tall and of medium build.
He was of heavy build.
She has a very slight build.
physique the size and appearance of someone’s body – used especially about men who look attractive:
He was over 1.8 m tall with a muscular physique.
Ben has a very athletic physique.
corpse noun [countable] the dead body of a person. Corpse is is used when you are thinking about the body as an object rather than a person:
Pathologists examined the corpse.
carcass noun [countable] the dead body of an animal:
a whale carcass
The carcasses of the infected animals were burned.
remains noun [plural] parts of a dead person or animal, especially when they died a long time ago:
Police found human remains under the floorboards of the house.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

build to make a house, road, wall, bridge etc using bricks, stone, wood, or other materials:
A new stadium will be built for the Olympics.
construct to build a building, bridge, machine etc. Construct is more formal than build:
The council plans to construct two new schools.
put up something to build a wall, fence, or building, or put a statue somewhere. Put up is less formal than build:
The neighbours have put up a new wooden fence.
erect formal to build a wall, fence, or building, especially a public building, or put a statue somewhere:
A monument to the Canadian soliders was erected in Green Park.
throw something up British English informal to build something very quickly:
Developers have hastily thrown up family homes in the area.
put together to make something from its parts, for example a piece of furniture:
It took an hour to put the bookcase together.
assemble formal to put all the parts of something such as a machine or a piece of furniture together:
A line of robots assemble the cars.
medium/average build
He was of medium build and wearing a light-coloured jacket.
slim/slender build
She was very strong despite her slender build.
thin build
He had the thin build of a long-distance runner.
slight build (=fairly thin)
Simpson was of slight build and shy in character.
stocky build (=not very tall, but broad and strong)
The man was described as of stocky build with dark hair.
sturdy build (=not very tall but strong and healthy)
an eight-year-old boy of sturdy build
muscular build
These exercises will help you achieve a strong muscular build.
athletic build
She admired his athletic build.
body the shape, size, and appearance of someone’s body:
Many women are not happy with their bodies.
His clothes emphasized his strong body.
figure a woman’s figure is the shape of her body – used especially when it is attractive:
She has a really nice figure.
Freya had an enviably slim figure.
physique the size and appearance of someone’s body – used especially about men who look attractive:
He was over 1.8 m tall with a muscular physique.
Ben has a very athletic physique.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲