lexicow

figure

/ˈfɪɡjər//ˈfɪɡə/·noun
A dark counter panel wakes up, and in its one little window the digits start to blur upward — racing, a smear of numbers climbing too fast to read, like a fuel pump mid-fill. Then the racing eases: column by column the wheels slow, wobble, and clunk into place, left to right, until they lock onto one exact reading and it flares bright for a beat. There is no average here, nothing summarised — the panel has simply landed on a value and is holding it dead still. One precise amount, named down to the last digit, with nothing behind it but the number itself.
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Definition

A figure is a number that names an amount — a count, a total, a precise value you could read straight off a page. It traces back to the Latin figura, 'shape or form': first the drawn shape of a written numeral, then the numeral itself, and finally the quantity it stands for. Unlike a statistic, which is distilled from a whole body of data, a figure is simply the value on its own. From a single figure a reader can infer very little about how it was reached, which is why exact numbers still need context.

Examples

  • The official figure for unemployment fell to its lowest level in a decade.
  • Annual revenue reached a record figure of eight billion dollars.
  • Analysts anticipate that the final figure will rise once late returns are counted.

Collocations

a six-figure salary·the latest figures·sales figures·in round figures·a ballpark figure·figures show

Synonyms

statistic·number·amount·digit·total

Antonyms

estimate·approximation

See also

Word family

figurative (adjective)·figuratively (adverb)

In TOEFL & IELTS

In IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 you constantly report figures from charts and tables — 'the figure rose to', 'figures for 2020 show'. Watch two exam senses: a figure can be a number (a sales figure) or a labelled diagram in a reading passage ('as shown in Figure 2'). The idiom 'a six-figure sum' means hundreds of thousands. Pronunciation splits by accent: US /ˈfɪɡjər/ keeps a 'y' glide (FIG-yur), while British /ˈfɪɡə/ drops it (FIG-uh).