figure of speech

American  

[fig-yer uhv speech] / ˈfɪg jər əv ˈspitʃ /

noun

Rhetoric.

• figures of speech
  plural

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.

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figure of speech British  

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• figures of speech
  plural

Etymology

Origin of figure of speech

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

figure of speech

That’s not a figure of speech but a literal description of the situation Neglia inherited.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2024

Which word means a figure of speech that involves exaggeration for emphasis or effect?

From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2023

The term “deafening silence” is even a common figure of speech.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 10, 2023

“It’s become a figure of speech now in domestic debates.”

From Washington Post ● Oct. 16, 2021

But it’s an irony of human communication that the more beautiful or lively or effective the figure of speech, the more likely it will be loved, remembered, repeated, worn out, and finally worked to death.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner