figure of speech

[fig-yer uhv speech]

noun

Rhetoric.

plural

figures of speech 

1. any expressive use of language, as a metaphor, simile, personification, or antithesis, in which words are used in other than their literal sense, or in other than their ordinary locutions, in order to suggest a picture or image or for other special effect.

figure of speech

noun

1. an expression of language, such as simile, metaphor, or personification, by which the usual or literal meaning of a word is not employed

Word History and Origins

Origin of figure of speech¹

First recorded in 1815–25