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figure
fig·ure / ˈfigyər/ • n. 1. a number, esp. one that forms part of official statistics or relates to the financial performance of a company: official census figures. ∎ a numerical symbol, esp. any of the ten in Arabic notation: the figure 7. ∎ one of a specified number of digits making up a larger number, used to give a rough idea of the order of magnitude: their market price runs into five figures [in comb.] a six-figure salary. ∎ an amount of money: a figure of two thousand dollars. ∎ (figures) arithmetical calculations: she has no head for figures. 2. a person's bodily shape, esp. that of a woman: she had always been so proud of her figure. ∎ a person of a particular kind, esp. one who is important or distinctive in some way: Williams became something of a cult figure. ∎ a representation of a human or animal form in drawing or sculpture: starkly painted figures. 3. a shape defined by one or more lines in two dimensions (such as a circle or a triangle), or one or more surfaces in three dimensions (such as a sphere or a cuboid): a red ground with white and blue geometric figures. ∎ a diagram or illustrative drawing, esp. in a book or magazine. ∎ Figure Skating a movement or series of movements following a prescribed pattern and often beginning and ending at the same point. ∎ a pattern formed by the movements of a group of people, for example in square dancing or synchronized swimming, as part of a longer dance or display. ∎ archaic the external form or shape of a thing. 4. Mus. a short succession of notes producing a single impression. • v. [intr.] 1. be a significant and noticeable part of something: the issue of nuclear policy figured prominently in the talks. ∎ (of a person) play a significant role in a situation or event: he figured largely in opposition to the bill. 2. [tr.] calculate or work out (an amount or value) arithmetically. 3. inf. think, consider, or expect to be the case: [tr.] for years, teachers had figured him for a dullard. ∎ (of a recent event or newly discovered fact) be logical and unsurprising: well, she supposed that figured. PHRASES: figure of speech a word or phrase used in a nonliteral sense to add rhetorical force to a spoken or written passage: calling her a crab is just a figure of speech.PHRASAL VERBS: figure on inf. count or rely on something happening or being the case in the future: anyone thinking of salmon fishing should figure on paying $200 a day. figure something out inf. solve or discover the cause of a problem: he was trying to figure out why the camera wasn't working. figure someone out reach an understanding of a person's actions, motives, or personality. ORIGIN: Middle 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.’ |
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"figure." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "figure." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-figure.html "figure." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-figure.html |
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figure
figure in music, short melodic or rhythmic pattern, the smallest grouping of notes that will produce a single distinct impression. In this sense figure is synonymous with motive . In music before the 18th cent., a figure had an additional meaning of symbolic significance; it was an illustration in sound of textual details, e.g., a descending group of notes for any word expressing descent. As such, it was part of musical rhetoric. |
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"figure." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "figure." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-figure.html "figure." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-figure.html |
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figure
figure.
1. In mus. structure, this word usually carries the same meaning as Motif. A ‘figure of accompaniment’ refers to the mus. cell from which a certain type of song acc. may be evolved. 2. In dancing the word implies a set of movts. by the dancers as a body, forming a distinct division of the whole. This element is prominent in a figure dance, as opposed to a step dance, in which it is largely absent. |
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MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "figure." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "figure." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-figure.html MICHAEL KENNEDY and JOYCE BOURNE. "figure." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O76-figure.html |
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figure
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T. F. HOAD. "figure." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "figure." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-figure.html T. F. HOAD. "figure." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-figure.html |
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figure
figure The shape given to an optical surface during manufacture. The process of producing or altering the shape is known as figuring.
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"figure." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "figure." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-figure.html "figure." A Dictionary of Astronomy. 1997. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O80-figure.html |
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figure
figure
•blagger, bragger, dagger, flagger, Jagger, lagger, nagger, quagga, saggar, shagger, stagger, swagger
•alga, realgar, Trafalgar
•anger, clangour (US clangor), Katanga, languor, manga, panga, sangar, tanga, Tauranga, Zamboanga
•sandbagger • carpetbagger • Erlanger
•Aga, Braga, dagga, dargah, laager, lager, naga, Onondaga, raga, saga
•beggar, eggar, Gregor, mega, Megger
•Edgar • Helga • Heidegger
•bootlegger
•Jaeger, maigre, Meleager, Noriega, Ortega, rutabaga, Sagar
•Antigua, beleaguer, bodega, eager, intriguer, leaguer, meagre (US meager), reneger, Riga, Seeger, Vega
•chigger, configure, digger, figure, Frigga, jigger, ligger, rigger, rigor, rigour, snigger, swigger, transfigure, trigger, vigour (US vigor)
•churinga, finger, linger, malinger
•gravedigger • ladyfinger • forefinger
•omega • vinegar • Honegger
•outrigger • Minnesinger
•Auriga, Eiger, liger, saiga, taiga, tiger
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Cite this article
"figure." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "figure." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-figure.html "figure." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-figure.html |
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