Figuring

How to spell figuring

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce figuring

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does figuring mean?

1. verbIn the process of calculating, reckoning, or working something out mentally.

Figuring in a sentence

• She spent the whole evening figuring out how much the renovation would cost.

• He kept figuring the numbers until the budget finally balanced.

Where does figuring come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the present participle of the verb 'figure', which traces back to the Latin figura, meaning 'a shape, form, or appearance'. That noun grew from the verb fingere, 'to shape or mould', the same root that gives us 'fiction' and 'effigy'. English borrowed 'figure' through Old French in the 1200s, at first meaning a shape or numeral, and only later did the verb sense of 'to work something out' develop, since calculating with numerals was literally 'working with figures'. The spelling keeps the single 'r' when adding '-ing', because the stress falls on the first syllable, so writers who expect a doubled consonant are sometimes caught out. The Latin sense of an outward form also survives in 'figure of speech' and in describing a person's bodily figure.

How the word is built

• figur- (from Latin figura: shape, form)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix; note the single 'r', no doubling)