figure
(=number) chiffre m
→ The second figure looks like a five.
→ unemployment figures
→ Government figures predict that one in two marriages will end in divorce
Can you give me the exact figures? Pouvez-vous me donner les chiffres exacts?
to put a figure on sth, I couldn't put a figure on it. Je ne pourrais pas le chiffrer.
→ No one will put a figure on the final cost of this reconstruction.
to be in single figures
[inflation, unemployment] être en dessous de la barre des 10%
→ Inflation, which has usually been in single figures, is now running at more than 12% ...
to reach double figures
[sportsman] atteindre les deux chiffres
→ Crawley, with 14, was the only other player to reach double figures ...
(=body shape) ligne f
→ Janet was a natural blonde with a fabulous figure
She's got a good figure. Elle est bien faite.
to watch one's figure faire attention à sa ligne
I have to watch my figure. Je dois faire attention à ma ligne.
to keep one's figure garder la ligne
to lose one's figure prendre du poids
(=outline) silhouette f , forme f
Helen saw the figure of a man on the bridge. Helen a vu la silhouette d'un homme sur le pont.
→ the figure of a man silhouetted against the skyline
→ Silhouetted against the sun stood the figure of a man
(GEOMETRY) figure f
→ A hexagon is a six-sided figure.
(=sculpture) statue f
→ a life-size figure of a woman
→ a commission to make a life-size figure of Queen Victoria.
(=person) personnage m
→ He's a controversial figure.
→ ... key figures in the main political parties
She's an important political figure. C'est un personnage politique important.
an authority figure une figure de l'autorité
→ ... authority figures such as parents and teachers
public figure personnalité f publique
→ he's a public figure and a role model for impressionable youngsters
→ where an individual is a public figure, he is entitled to have his privacy respected
to be a figure of fun être un guignol
to cut a brave figure
(=look brave) faire bonne figure
vt (US)
(=think)
to figure (that) ... supposer que ...
→ They figured it was better to stay where they were.
→ I figured that's what she wanted
(=appear) figurer
→ Loneliness figures a lot in his conversation.
→ Human rights violations figured prominently in the report
(US) *
(=make sense) s'expliquer that figures ça paraît logique → When I finished, he said, 'Yeah. That figures' ...
ballpark figure
n chiffre m approximatif
→ I don't need the exact sum, just give me a ballpark figure.
double-figure
adj
[interest] à deux chiffres
father figure , father-figure
n figure f paternelle
→ She believed her daughter needed a father-figure ...
He needs a father figure. Il a besoin d'une figure paternelle.
He's been a father figure to me. Il a été un père pour moi.
-figure
suffix
a six-figure sum une somme à six chiffres
→ Columbia Pictures paid him a six-figure sum for the film rights.
→ ... collectors' pieces which change hands for five-figure sums.
▲
figure on
vt fus (US)
to figure on doing compter faire
▲
figure out
vt sep
(=calculate) calculer
I'll try to figure out how much it'll cost. Je vais essayer de calculer combien ça va coûter.
[+understand] comprendre
I couldn't figure out what it meant. Je n'arrivais pas à comprendre ce que cela signifiait.
→ It took them about one month to figure out how to start the equipment
I can't figure him out at all. Je n'arrive pas du tout à le comprendre.
(=decide)
She had not yet figured out what she was going to do. Elle n'avait pas encore d'idée précise de ce qu'elle allait faire.
figure eight
n (US) huit m
figure-hugging
adj
[dress, top] moulant (e)
→ ... a figure-hugging dress.
figure of eight
n (British) huit m
figure of fun
n objet m de risée
→ this project will only go to make her more of a figure of fun than she already is
figure of speech
n
(=rhetorical device) figure f de style
It's just a figure of speech. C'est juste une façon de parler.
→ Of course I'm not. It was just a figure of speech.
figure skater
n patineur (-euse) m/f artistique
figure skating
n (competitive)
figures fpl imposées (en patinage) , (in display)
patinage m artistique
hourglass figure
n
to have an hourglass figure avoir des formes fpl généreuses
→ lovely hourglass figures: proper breasts, curvy hips
single-figure
adj
single-figure growth croissance à un chiffre
a single-figure increase une augmentation inférieure à dix pour cent