noun
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a person nominally having a prominent position, but no real authority
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a carved bust or full-length figure at the upper end of the stems of some sailing vessels
Etymology
Origin of figurehead
Explanation
A figurehead is someone who appears to be in charge, but who really holds very little influence. In many countries today, kings and queens are merely figureheads. A ceremonial president or king — one installed as a symbolic head of a country, while someone else holds the real power — is one type of figurehead. If a retiring businesswoman promotes her son to be the new CEO of her company, while putting a different person in charge of running the business, the son is just a figurehead. The word figurehead comes from its original meaning, the figures carved at the front of old sailing ships.
Vocabulary lists containing figurehead
Revolution in Our Time
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Civilizations of East Asia and Southeast Asia, Lesson 4–7
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fig
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Following the floods that swept through Derna in 2023, killing nearly 4,000 people, Belgacem became the figurehead for reconstruction efforts in the area.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
Kennedy last year had considered installing someone else to run the FDA while Makary remained a figurehead.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Naturally, this is the film’s opening scene, intended to communicate that managing Tourette’s is a lifelong endeavor, but that even the stuffiest, most proper royal figurehead can meet the condition with patience and understanding.
From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026
I was able to separate Chavez the man from the movement for which he was a figurehead.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
A figurehead can only see things in front of the ship, and nothing within it, so Calliope can just guess at the way into the forecastle, where her legs—if they exist—would be embedded.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
