figure
• noun 1 a number or numerical symbol. 2 an amount of money. 3 a person’s bodily shape, especially that of a woman. 4 a person seen indistinctly. 5 an artistic representation of a human or animal form. 6 a shape defined by one or more lines. 7 a diagram or illustrative drawing. 8 Music a short succession of notes producing a single impression. • verb 1 be a significant part of or contributor to something. 2 calculate arithmetically. 3 (figure out) informal reach an understanding of. 4 informal, chiefly N. Amer. be perfectly understandable: that figures! 5 (figure on) N. Amer. informal count or rely on something happening or being the case. 6 informal, chiefly N. Amer. think; consider. 7 represent in a diagram or picture. — ORIGIN Latin figura ‘figure, form’.
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