figure
noun /ˈfɪɡə(r)/
/ˈfɪɡjər/
Idioms - [countable, usually plural] a number representing a particular amount, especially one given in official information
- the latest sales/crime/unemployment figures
- Official figures indicate that crime is falling.
- Figures for April show a slight improvement on previous months.
- By 2017, this figure had risen to 14 million.
- Viewing figures for the series have dropped dramatically.
- Figures released by the hospital reveal a rise in the number of admissions.
- Experts put the real figure at closer to 75%.
- according to… figures According to government figures, 3.6 million children are living in poverty.
- Her argument is backed up with plenty of facts and figures.
Extra ExamplesTopics Maths and measurementa2- We don't need a lot of facts and figures to understand that homelessness is a problem—we see it every day in our cities.
- The most recent trade figures vividly illustrate this problem.
- According to figures published recently, more people are in serious debt.
- Figures obtained by this newspaper show that the group spent 3.6 million euro on TV advertising.
- For 2016–17, the figure quoted is $1.295 billion.
- The report cites figures as high as 85%.
- We can't put a firm figure on it, but attendance was better than ever.
- Even though he doubled his sales figures every year, he was fired.
- The bank's figures reveal mortgage borrowing rose by £7.9 billion.
- The company hopes to double this figure by the end of the year.
- 64% of American women breastfeed during their infants' first weeks of life, but after 6 months, that figure drops to 29%.
- These figures reflect sales for just the early part of the summer.
- Do those figures include families with no children living at home?
- A breakdown of the figures shows that 73% of the employees who requested flexible working were women.
- The average price is nearly 20% above the figure for the previous year.
- This figure represents an increase of nearly 13%.
- This figure might suggest several billion pounds a year of losses worldwide.
- The government has just released new unemployment figures.
- The industry remains in the doldrums, according to official figures out today.
- These figures don't add up.
- The final figure looks like being much higher than predicted.
- Lots of different figures were being bandied about.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- high
- low
- double
- …
- reach
- exceed
- add
- …
- add up
- be bandied about
- indicate something
- …
- according to (the) figures
- in round figures
- [countable] a symbol rather than a word representing one of the numbers between 0 and 9
- Write the figure ‘7’ on the board.
- paths built in the shape of a figure 8
- a six-figure salary (= over 100 000 pounds or dollars)
- in… figures Her salary is now in six figures.
- My unread email was in triple figures (= more than 100).
- Ticket prices for the show are likely to be into three figures (= at least 100 pounds or dollars).
Extra ExamplesTopics Maths and measurementa2- Roads loop around the site in a figure eight.
- Skaters carve figure eights in the ice.
- Write a figure “1” next to bids that were successful and "0" next to those that were not.
- Inflation is now in single figures.
- The rate of inflation reached double figures.
- England's batsmen failed to reach triple figures.
- She's earning a six-figure salary.
- At that time, very few artists made as many as four figures.
- He took a photo of her and sold it to a tabloid newspaper for five figures.
- I'd be surprised if the fee doesn't run into five figures.
- The gross sales of a moderately successful book come in the low five figures.
- After five years she can expect to earn in the high five figures.
- The crowds the band can attract have dipped to the low four figures.
- figures[plural] (informal) the area of mathematics that deals with adding, multiplying, etc. numbers synonym arithmetic
- Are you any good at figures?
- I'm afraid I don't have a head for figures (= I am not good at adding, etc.).
- I was never very good at figures.
- [countable] a person of the type mentioned
- a leading figure in the music industry
- a senior figure in the organization
- a key/prominent/central figure
- King's widow, Coretta Scott King, later became a public figure in her own right.
- teachers and other authority figures
- figure of something a figure of authority/ridicule
- He was a well-known figure in London at that time.
- one of the most popular figures in athletics
- When she last saw him, he was a sad figure—old and tired.
Extra Examples- Several powerful political figures spoke out against him.
- As a public figure, you have certain responsibilities.
- a key figure on the committee
- He was one of the most prominent figures of the Pop Art movement.
- She was a central figure in revolutionary politics at that time.
- one of modern architecture's most influential figures
- She often came into conflict with teachers and other authority figures.
- Kinsey was a controversial figure in his own time.
- celebrities who have become figures of ridicule
- He was not only a composer but a figure of some historical importance.
- She is interested in Jesus as a historical figure.
- He corresponded with notable artists, art historians, and literary figures.
- He was an Italian painter, a shadowy figure about whose life very little is known.
- a relatively unknown figure from the world of fashion
- He was a familiar figure in the local pub.
- They were visited by the unlikely figure of Donald Trump.
- A male Scottish law professor seems an unlikely figure to be writing novels about an African woman detective.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- great
- central
- key
- …
- figure of
- [countable] the shape of a person seen from a distance or not clearly
- There before him stood a tall figure in black.
- A shadowy figure can be seen through the window.
- The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over.
Extra Examples- I saw a shadowy figure approaching.
- A hooded figure stood by the door.
- Who is the figure in the background?
- I opened my eyes to see several figures standing over me.
- She appears as a ghostly figure.
- Just then, two figures appeared over the horizon.
- There was a figure coming up the path.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- cloaked
- hooded
- masked
- …
- painter
- drawing
- painting
- …
- [countable] the shape of the human body, especially a woman’s body that is attractive
- She's always had a good figure.
- I'm watching my figure (= trying not to get fat).
Collocations Physical appearancePhysical appearance- A person may be described as having:
- (bright) blue/green/(dark/light) brown/hazel eyes
- deep-set/sunken/bulging/protruding eyes
- small/beady/sparkling/twinkling/(informal) shifty eyes
- piercing/penetrating/steely eyes
- bloodshot/watery/puffy eyes
- bushy/thick/dark/raised/arched eyebrows
- long/dark/thick/curly/false eyelashes/lashes
- a flat/bulbous/pointed/sharp/snub nose
- a straight/a hooked/a Roman/(formal) an aquiline nose
- full/thick/thin/pouty lips
- dry/chapped/cracked lips
- flushed/rosy/red/ruddy/pale cheeks
- soft/chubby/sunken cheeks
- white/perfect/crooked/protruding teeth
- a large/high/broad/wide/sloping forehead
- a strong/weak/pointed/double chin
- a long/full/bushy/wispy/goatee beard
- a long/thin/bushy/droopy/handlebar/pencil moustache
- pale/fair/olive/dark/tanned skin
- dry/oily/smooth/rough/leathery/wrinkled skin
- a dark/pale/light/sallow/ruddy/olive/swarthy/clear complexion
- deep/fine/little/facial wrinkles
- blonde/blond/fair/(light/dark) brown/(jet-)black/auburn/red/(British English) ginger/grey hair
- straight/curly/wavy/frizzy/spiky hair
- thick/thin/fine/bushy/thinning hair
- dyed/bleached/soft/silky/dry/greasy/shiny hair
- long/short/shoulder-length/cropped hair
- a bald/balding/shaved head
- a receding hairline
- a bald patch/spot
- a side/centre(British English) parting
- a long/short/thick/slender/(disapproving) scrawny neck
- broad/narrow/sloping/rounded/hunched shoulders
- a bare/broad/muscular/small/large chest
- a flat/swollen/bulging stomach
- a small/tiny/narrow/slim/slender/28-inch waist
- big/wide/narrow/slim hips
- a straight/bent/arched/broad/hairy back
- thin/slender/muscular arms
- big/large/small/manicured/calloused/gloved hands
- long/short/fat/slender/delicate/bony fingers
- long/muscular/hairy/shapely/(both informal, often disapproving) skinny/spindly legs
- muscular/chubby/(informal, disapproving) flabby thighs
- big/little/small/dainty/wide/narrow/bare feet
- a good/a slim/a slender/an hourglass figure
- be of slim/medium/average/large/athletic/stocky build
Extra ExamplesTopics Appearanceb1- You need to watch your figure.
- foods that are good for the health and the figure
- Dancing is fun and great for your figure.
- You have a lovely figure.
- She's kept her figure after all these years.
- I thought if I had a baby I'd lose my figure.
- How do you get such a great figure?
- He's small, with a rather plump figure.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- beautiful
- fine
- good
- …
- cut
- have
- keep
- …
- a fine figure of a man
- a fine figure of a woman
- [countable] a person or an animal in a drawing, painting, etc., or in a story
- The central figure in the painting is the artist's daughter.
- [countable] a statue of a person or an animal
- a bronze figure of a horse
- [countable] (abbreviation fig.)a picture, diagram, etc. in a book, that is referred to by a number or letter
- The results are illustrated in figure 3 opposite.
Extra Examples- See Figure 8.
- Figure 4 represents the process of soil erosion.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + figure- refer to
- see
- illustrate something
- show something
- [countable] a particular shape formed by lines or surfaces
- a five-sided figure
- a solid figure
- [countable] a pattern or series of movements performed on ice
- The skater executed a perfect set of figures.
numbers
person
shape of body
in painting/story
statue
picture/diagram
geometry
movement on ice
Word OriginMiddle English (in the senses ‘distinctive shape of a person or thing’, ‘representation of something material or immaterial’, and ‘numerical symbol’, among others): from Old French figure (noun), figurer (verb), from Latin figura ‘shape, figure, form’; related to fingere ‘form, contrive’.
Idioms
be/become a figure of fun
- to be/become somebody that other people laugh at
cut a… figure
- (of a person) to have a particular appearance
- He cut a striking figure in his white dinner jacket.
- He cut a dashing figure in his uniform.
facts and figures
- accurate and detailed information
- I've asked to see all the facts and figures before I make a decision.
More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spic and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane
put a figure on something
- to say the exact price or number of something
- It’s impossible to put a figure on the number of homeless people in London.
- You can't put a dollar figure on the lives ruined by the hurricane.