Cryptic crossword clue
Brave person swims about outside with small figures 9

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word SPHEROIDS

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
P
H
E
R
O
I
D
S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "figures" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case figures = spheroids.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does SPHEROIDS mean?

SPHEROIDS noun
  1. A solid of revolution generated by rotating an ellipse about its major (prolate), or minor (oblate) axis.

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