Definition of "figurehead" []

• A carved figure on the prow of a ship. (noun)
• A person given a position of nominal leadership but having no actual authority. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The word "figurehead" ran in Poppaelia's mind but he did not voice it."
• "Good or evil, competent or inept, any leader or figurehead is welcome to offer assistance at this point."
• "Clinton, clearly more than a figurehead, is chairman, guiding spirit, and the big gun strategically deployed for publicity and persuasion."