Trivia Time

Which of the following is an example of a metaphor?

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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.

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metaphor British  

/ -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

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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.)

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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 story could act as a metaphor for the entire album.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

I also am not losing any sleep over Pirro’s employment status, and I’ve always believed that the pool story is—as my colleague Christina Cauterucci explained—useful more as a metaphor than as a policy issue.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026

As in all things, Falstaff is led by his belly, a gargantuan metaphor for his gluttonous nature.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

For Rüdiger Mahlo, the first sign that Germans were starting to fundamentally alter the meaning of Holocaust was when they started using it as a metaphor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

So maybe the grass is a metaphor for our equality and our essential connectedness, as Dr. Holden had said.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green

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

Perhaps you can see how the metaphors between the backrooms and the internet itself multiply from here: Like the backrooms, one can lose oneself forever in the internet.

From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2026

Arnold uses different metaphors to describe his feelings about what lies between him and brother.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

Thinking at cosmic and subatomic scales requires plenty of math—or some visual metaphors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

This is the part where I’m supposed to use food metaphors to describe everyone’s respective complexions.

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan

Related Words

• analogy
• image
• symbol