fig.
Abbreviation with 3 meanings
| Stands for | Figure |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 3 |
| Categories | Writing & Everyday, Sports |
| Also written | FIG |
fig. has three meanings. The most common are Figure (citation and bibliography) and Figuratively (grammar and dictionary); it can also stand for Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (International Gymnastics Federation).
Meanings of fig. at a glance
| # | fig. stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Figure | Writing & Everyday › Citation and Bibliography |
| 2 | Figuratively | Writing & Everyday › Grammar and Dictionary |
| 3 | Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (International Gymnastics Federation) | Sports › Sports Governing Body |
1. Figure
Writing & Everyday · Citation and Bibliography Abbreviations
Labels a numbered illustration, chart, diagram or photograph in books, articles and reports, and points to it from the text, as in "see fig. 3." Scientific papers use it constantly.
Example: Survival rates by treatment group are shown in Fig. 2, with error bars indicating 95 percent confidence intervals.
Journals often capitalize it in text and captions ("Fig. 2"), Chicago lowercases it in running text, and APA spells out "Figure." The plural is figs. Tables are numbered separately from figures. In dictionaries, fig. means "figuratively," a different sense entirely.
2. Figuratively
Writing & Everyday · Grammar and Dictionary Abbreviations
Marks a figurative sense of a word, one extended by metaphor from its literal meaning, as in "a mountain (fig.) of paperwork." Dictionaries list figurative senses after the literal ones they grow from.
Example: anchor (n.) 1. a heavy device that holds a ship in place; 2. fig. a source of stability
Distinguishing literal and figurative senses helps learners understand idioms such as "break the ice" or "spill the beans." In textbooks and scientific papers, fig. far more often means "figure," a numbered illustration, so the setting decides which is meant. Some dictionaries write "figurative" or "fig. use" in full.
3. Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (International Gymnastics Federation) (FIG)
Sports · Sports Governing Body Abbreviations
Sets the rules of gymnastics through the Code of Points, which assigns difficulty values and deductions, and governs artistic, rhythmic, trampoline, acrobatic, aerobic and parkour disciplines. New skills are named after the gymnasts who first perform them at major events.
Example: Simone Biles has several skills named after her in the FIG Code of Points.
Founded in Liège, Belgium, in 1881, and often described as the oldest existing international sports federation; headquartered in Lausanne. The open-ended scoring system, which replaced the "perfect 10" after 2005, adds a difficulty score to an execution score. Pronounced as letters.
Related abbreviations
More citation and bibliography abbreviations
- eds. – Editors
- enl. – Enlarged
- f. – And the following (page)
- ff. – And the following (pages)
- fn. – Footnote
- fol. – Folio
- illus. – Illustrator or illustrated by
- intro. – Introduction
See all 58 citation and bibliography abbreviations →