Trivia Time

Which of the following is an example of a metaphor?

Test Your Knowledge

metaphor

American  

[met-uh-fawr, -fer] / ˈmɛt əˌfɔr, -fər /

noun

• metaphors
  plural

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 British  

/ ˈmɛtəfə, -ˌfɔː /

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 Cultural  

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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• metaphors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of metaphor

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

Compare meaning

How does metaphor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• allegory vs. metaphor

Explanation

If you brag that "the world's your oyster," you're using a metaphor from Shakespeare, who knew a thing or two about figures of speech. Good writers know their way around a metaphor, where you make an analogy between two things to show how one resembles the other in some way. When a character from Shakespeare calls the world his oyster, that's his boastful way of saying that all the riches of the world are his for the taking, like plucking a pearl from an oyster shell. Shakespeare also wrote, "All the world's a stage." Oyster? Stage? Come on, Will, get your metaphors straight!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

metaphor metaphors

“The Pineapple” then began to feel like a metaphor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

That conceit ended up an unsubtle but no less effective metaphor for our new Gilded Age.

From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026

It would have been a fitting metaphor for an awful afternoon for the Old Trafford hosts.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

He uses a local metaphor, “rotate the crops,” for political turnover.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

But he’s not nodding his head or pushing my hair behind my ear and his grandmother’s ring is sitting on Mother’s velvet sofa like some ridiculous metaphor.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

When the themes get more abstract—“Synesthesia,” “The Mythology of Fear”—we’re looking at metaphors for the human condition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Their tattered remnants, barely held together with patches and stitching, are poignant metaphors for a battered will that keeps fighting even as protections wear thin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

"Game changer" is the i Paper's verdict as "Europe tackles Infantino" – continuing with the football metaphors.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Today there are more than 800–roughly the population of Tapanuli orangutans or wild Bactrian camels, but it’s too late to change metaphors.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

Each voice has a unique tone color that is described using adjectives or metaphors such as “nasally,” “resonant,” “vibrant,” “strident,” “high,” “low,” “breathy,” “piercing,” “ringing,” “rounded,” “warm,” “mellow,” “dark,” “bright,” “heavy,” “light,” “vibrato.”

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Related Words

• analogy
• image
• symbol