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figure

/ˈfɪɡjər//ˈfɪɡə/·noun
a number representing an amount, value, or quantity
Fig. 1 — 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.
01Definition

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.

02In use
  • iThe official figure for unemployment fell to its lowest level in a decade.
  • iiAnnual revenue reached a record figure of eight billion dollars.
  • iiiAnalysts anticipate that the final figure will rise once late returns are counted.
03Collocations
  • a six-figure salary
  • the latest figures
  • sales figures
  • in round figures
  • a ballpark figure
  • figures show

Family figurative (adjective) · figuratively (adverb)

04Relations

=statistic, number, amount, digit, total

≠estimate, approximation

05Compared
PairThe difference
figure vs numbera value as written in digits, or an officially reported amount → figure; the abstract count or quantity itself → number.
figure vs statistica bare number → figure; a number with data behind it → statistic (every statistic is a figure, not the reverse).
06TOEFL & 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).

07Asked
What does 'figure out' mean?
To work something out — to solve it, understand it, or reach a decision through thought: 'I can't figure out this puzzle', 'we need to figure out what went wrong'. It is a phrasal verb, separable ('figure it out'), and one of the word's busiest senses, quite apart from figure meaning a number. Here figure means to reason your way to an answer.
What is a figure of speech?
An expression that means something other than its literal words — metaphors, similes, hyperbole, idioms. 'It's raining cats and dogs' is a figure of speech, not a weather report. The link to figure is the root figura, 'shape or form': a figure of speech gives language a shape beyond the plain sense of its words.
What does 'public figure' mean?
A well-known person in public life — a politician, celebrity, or leading businessperson — someone in the public eye. Here figure means a notable person rather than a number, keeping the old sense of a shape that stands out. In law, public figures have less protection from criticism than private individuals do.
What does 'figure' mean when describing a body?
A person's bodily shape or form — 'she has an athletic figure', 'watching your figure'. It is a neutral, somewhat formal way to speak of build or silhouette, again from figura, 'form'. The same word thus covers a number on a page, a diagram, a famous person, and the shape of a body — all shapes of one kind or another.
What is a figure in a research paper?
A labelled illustration — a chart, graph, diagram, or photo — numbered so the text can point to it ('as shown in Figure 2'). Tables are usually numbered separately. In TOEFL reading and academic writing, 'see Figure 3' directs you to the visual that carries the evidence. It is the drawn-shape sense of the word, formalised.
What does 'six-figure' mean?
A number with six digits — so a six-figure salary is between 100,000 and 999,999. The pattern scales: five-figure is tens of thousands, seven-figure is millions. It is a quick, slightly boastful way to signal a range without naming the exact amount, and it uses figure in its core sense of a single digit in a number.
What is the difference between a figure and a statistic?
The quick tell: a figure is a bare number on its own, while a statistic is a value distilled from a whole body of data. The full contrast, with both animated scenes, is on the figure vs statistic page in the 'Compared' list above.