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

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  

/ -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

---

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

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

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

The web may be the most important metaphor of our time, from our web-of-life ecosystems to the World Wide Web that connects our devices.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

On Keenan's experience of being in the hut, Pieter said it showed how the brain was a "metaphor and meaning-generating machine".

From BBC • May 15, 2026

Andy’s transition from sensible boots to stilettos served as a metaphor for the effort — even discomfort — it takes to chase your dreams, however they might evolve.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

Dawkins was not using “selfish” in the conventional sense of the word, but as an overextended metaphor for the lengths that DNA will go to replicate itself.

From Salon • Apr. 23, 2026

By the summer of 2006 Greg Lippmann had a new metaphor in his head: a tug-of-war.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• analogy
• image
• symbol