metaphor

[met-uh-fawr, -fer]

noun

1. a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.”

2. something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else; emblem; symbol.

metaphor

/ -ˌfɔː, ˌmɛtəˈfɒrɪk, ˈmɛtəfə /

noun

1. a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action that it does not literally denote in order to imply a resemblance, for example he is a lion in battle Compare simile

metaphor

1. The comparison of one thing to another without the use of like or as: “A man is but a weak reed”; “The road was a ribbon of moonlight.” Metaphors are common in literature and expansive speech. (Compare simile.)

Other Word Forms

• metaphorical adjective
• metaphoric adjective
• metaphorically adverb
• metaphoricalness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of metaphor¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin metaphora, from Greek metaphorá “a transfer,” akin to metaphérein “to transfer”; meta-, -phore

Word History and Origins

Origin of metaphor¹

C16: from Latin, from Greek metaphora, from metapherein to transfer, from _meta- + pherein to bear

Example Sentences

The song is about a late-season baseball game before the onset of winter, a metaphor for a relationship about to freeze over.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The more familiar “Renaissance” nevertheless remains a rich and esoteric metaphor, suggesting a human capacity for rediscovery and renovation—for re-creation.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Yet, beneath Stephen King’s fictional history lies a sharper argument: Derry’s evil, particularly in “It,” serves as a metaphor for how fear and its consequences shape communities — both fictional and real.

Read more on Salon

The metaphor was spot on and a terrific cultural reference to describe the moment.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As for China “winning a race that was never run,” that’s the wrong metaphor.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• analogy 
• image 
• symbol