I. fig ‧ ure 1 S1 W1 /ˈfɪɡə $ ˈfɪɡjər/ BrE AmE 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 ↑ cult 2
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 SYN 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
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + 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?
■ verbs
▪ 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.
■ phrases
▪ 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.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ 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.
II. figure 2 S1 W3 BrE AmE 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 SYN 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 SYN 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 SYN work out :
Women. I just can’t figure them out.