figure skating

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noun

ice skating in which the skater traces intricate patterns on the ice.

a type of ice skating developed from this, emphasizing jumps, spins, and other movements that combine athletic skills and dance techniques.

a competitive sport in which the skater is required to execute school figures and to perform one or more original programs of difficult jumps, spins, etc., to a musical setting.

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Origin of figure skating

First recorded in 1865–70

OTHER WORDS FROM figure skating

figure skater, noun

Words nearby figure skating

figure of merit, figure of speech, figure on, figure out, figure skate, figure skating, figure up, figurine, fig wart, fig wasp, figwort

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use figure skating in a sentence

They are also designed to accommodate more of a “side-to-side” skating motion as opposed to the more “straight and narrow” figure skating style, which most people find more natural.
Best ice skates: Stay comfortable and in control on the ice|PopSci Commerce Team|March 4, 2021|Popular-Science
In that sense, breaking isn’t that different from other judged events at the Olympics, such as figure skating and gymnastics.
How break dancing made the leap from ’80s pop culture to the Olympic stage|Rick Maese|February 9, 2021|Washington Post
There were rumors of shrieks and flashes emanating from the well, and reports of a figure in white.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Even other men of color considered Revels a curious figure, for Mississippi had never had a large free black population.
The Black Man Who Replaced Jefferson Davis in the Senate|Philip Dray|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The people who are involved in the violence, they figure out ways to remain here at all costs and continue causing trouble.
Mexico’s Priests Are Marked for Murder|Jason McGahan|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Several of them disputed the figure of six million Jewish deaths in the Holocaust.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise|Jason Berry|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But the last national figure to wield ancient personal authority in an explicitly religious way was Robert F. Kennedy.
No Gods, No Cops, No Masters|James Poulos|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He was tall and of familiar figure, and the firelight was playing in the tossed curls of his short, fair hair.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
Their opportunities and earnings are relatively small, and in order to live they must figure closely.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
It was when the face and figure of a great tragedian began to haunt her imagination and stir her senses.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Tressan fell suddenly to groaning and wringing his hands a pathetic figure had it been less absurd.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
Her tall figure—she was taller than he by at least three inches—was beautiful in its commanding, yet not vulgar, self-possession.
Bella Donna|Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for figure skating

figure skating

noun

ice skating in which the skater traces outlines of selected patterns

the whole art of skating, as distinct from skating at speed

Derived forms of figure skating

figure skater, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012