figure
n. countablen. a number that shows an amount or a price. It can also mean the shape of a person's body.
n. a numerical symbol or amount; alternatively, the external form or shape of a human body. Often used in plural to refer to financial data or statistics.
The final figure for the new car was higher than expected.
The government released the latest employment figures, showing a slight improvement over the previous quarter.
Economists are still debating the exact figure, but most agree that the stimulus package prevented a much deeper recession during the winter months.
From Middle English figure, borrowed from Old French figure, from Latin figūra (“form, shape, form of a word, a figure of speech, Late Latin a sketch, drawing”), from fingō (“to form, shape, mold, fashion”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to mold, shape, form, knead”). Cognate with Ancient Greek τεῖχος (teîkhos), Sanskrit देग्धि (dégdhi), Old English dāg (“dough”). More at dough. Doublet of figura.
Commonly used in the plural ('figures') when referring to a set of data or a person's calculations.