That figure served as a floor over the next couple of years.

"The 38-billion-pound figure will serve as a base line to mark future trends."

The figure returns throughout the work and serves as its center of gravity.

These figures serve to indicate a relative order of magnitude.

In his imaginative play, the golden figure served as a heroic leader.

Today's figures should serve as a stark reminder to the government that the jobs market is still bleak.

In practice, however, the prime minister was a fairly weak figure, serving as little more than the cabinet's chairman.

Early figures such as those are not absolutely reliable and serve only as a general guide.

Pentagon officials said the effort was meant to ease Congressional opposition to the program, but the figures served only to bring new criticism.

Designed in the 1930s, the figure served as the teams' official or near-official mascot from 1979 until 2003.