figure of speech

[ fig-yer uhv speech ]

noun

, Rhetoric.

, plural fig·ures 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. Compare trope ( def 1 ).

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