figurehead

[ fig-yer-hed ]

/ ˈfɪg yərˌhɛd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR figurehead ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who is head of a group, company, etc., in title but actually has no real authority or responsibility: Most modern kings and queens are figureheads.

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

Nearby words

figure-ground, figure-ground phenomenon, figured, figured bass, figured glass, figurehead, figurine, figwort, figwort family, fiji, fiji islands

Origin of figurehead

First recorded in 1755–65; figure + head

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for figurehead

How will we know if Kim, when he eventually surfaces, is ruler or figurehead?
Kim Jong Un: Erased?|Gordon G. Chang|October 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He may be a figurehead, but the president who is elected today is worth keeping an eye on for signs of where Pakistan is going.
Mamnoon Hussain: The New Man in Pakistan|Husain Haqqani|July 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Indeed, Medvedev was never really more than a figurehead president, despite the theoretically huge powers attached to the job.
Return of President Putin|Owen Matthews|September 24, 2011|DAILY BEAST
At the surface, the man who has emerged as the rescue attempt's figurehead is Laurence Golborne, the Chilean Minister of Mining.
Behind Chile's Miracle Mine Rescue|Constantino Diaz-Duran|October 9, 2010|DAILY BEAST

He was the figurehead for D.C.'s ambitious school reform program—until he was found shot to death.
The School Murder That Shocked D.C.|Benjamin Sarlin|May 1, 2010|DAILY BEAST
This led to the explanation of the name as derived from the head of an ox having served as the galley's figurehead.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
Certainly; but I know, and every one else in the company guesses, that you are only the figurehead.
A Star for a Night|Elsie Janis
From where she sat she could look up at the figurehead over the portico.
Georgina of the Rainbows|Annie Fellows Johnston
The figurehead may have had some relation to the original or intended name of the ship prior to her purchase for conversion.
The Pioneer Steamship Savannah: A Study for a Scale Model|Howard I. Chapelle
I see what you would like, Sir Julian: you want a figurehead guaranteed against collisions.
The Second Fiddle|Phyllis Bottome

British Dictionary definitions for figurehead

figurehead

/ (ˈfɪɡəˌhɛd) /

noun

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

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

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