dummy vs figure

dummy

verb
  • To feint. 

  • To make a mock-up or prototype version of something, without some or all off its intended functionality. 

noun
  • A newborn animal that is indifferent to stimulus and does not voluntarily move. 

  • A player whose hand is shown and is to be played from by another player. 

  • A stupid person. 

  • A deliberately nonfunctional device or tool used in place of a functional one. 

  • Something constructed with the size and form of a human, to be used in place of a person. 

  • A figure of a person or animal used by a ventriloquist; a puppet. 

  • A "dummy teat"; a plastic or rubber teat used to soothe or comfort a baby; a pacifier. 

  • A word serving only to make a construction grammatical. 

  • An unused parameter or value. 

  • A person who is the mere tool of another; a man of straw. 

  • A feigned pass or kick or play in order to deceive an opponent. 

  • A bodily gesture meant to fool an opposing player; a feint. 

adv
  • Extremely. 

figure

verb
  • To embellish. 

  • To represent by a metaphor; to signify or symbolize. 

  • To write over or under the bass, as figures or other characters, in order to indicate the accompanying chords. 

  • To calculate, to solve a mathematical problem. 

  • To enter into; to be a part of. 

  • To think, to assume, to suppose, to reckon. 

  • To embellish with design; to adorn with figures. 

  • To come to understand. 

  • To be reasonable. 

noun
  • A visible pattern as in wood or cloth. 

  • A number, an amount. 

  • A drawing or diagram conveying information. 

  • A human figure, which dress or corset must fit to; the shape of a human body. 

  • A form of melody or accompaniment kept up through a strain or passage; a motif; a florid embellishment. 

  • The form of a syllogism with respect to the relative position of the middle term. 

  • A figure of speech. 

  • The appearance or impression made by the conduct or career of a person. 

  • A person or thing representing a certain consciousness. 

  • A numeral. 

  • A horoscope; the diagram of the aspects of the astrological houses. 

  • Any short succession of notes, either as melody or as a group of chords, which produce a single complete and distinct impression. 

  • The representation of any form, as by drawing, painting, modelling, carving, embroidering, etc.; especially, a representation of the human body. 

  • A shape. 

  • Any complex dance moveᵂ. 

How often have the words dummy and figure occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )