figure of speech

American  

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

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 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

---

Etymology

Origin of figure of speech

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

But it’s certainly more than a figure of speech.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 5, 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

The metaphor, the most common figure of speech, lets us use one image—any image we want!—to conjure up another.

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