figurehead

American  

[fig-yer-hed] / ˈfɪg yərˌhɛd /

noun

1. a person who is head heads of a group, company, etc., in title but actually has no real authority or responsibility.

   Most modern kings and queens are figureheads.

2. Nautical. a carved full-length figure or bust built into the bow of a sailing ship.

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figurehead British  

/ ˈfɪɡəˌhɛd /

noun

1. a person nominally having a prominent position, but no real authority

2. a carved bust or full-length figure at the upper end of the stems of some sailing vessels

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Etymology

Origin of figurehead

First recorded in 1755–65; figure + head

Example Sentences

But Hanson's biographer and filmmaker Dr Anna Broinowski says the One Nation leader has endured as a figurehead of right-wing politics because she paints herself as a "person of the people".

From BBC

I was able to separate Chavez the man from the movement for which he was a figurehead.

From Los Angeles Times

There are some 95 million Anglicans around the world with the Archbishop of Canterbury as their spiritual figurehead.

From BBC

Simply getting Zuckerberg on the stand Wednesday was a coup for the plaintiffs and a potential liability for his company’s platforms, which must now contend with profound public distaste for the Meta figurehead.

From Los Angeles Times

Maggie Thatcher came a few years before Reagan, but they were closely allied and historically linked as figureheads of the triumphant New Right.

From Salon

Related Words

• cipher
• nonentity
• puppet