metaphor

[met-uh-fawr, -fer]

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

/ -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

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
• metaphorically adverb
• metaphoricalness noun
• metaphorical adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of metaphor¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of metaphor¹

C16: from Latin, from Greek metaphora, from metapherein to transfer, from _meta- + pherein to bear

Example Sentences

The settings—generic spaces such as cafés, train stations, hotel lobbies, and offices—tend to be described with similar brevity, while the detectives’ actions are recounted in prose generally lacking metaphor, simile, or fanciful digression.

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They might serve as a metaphor for highways, or neural networks indicating the reach of human imagination.

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William H. Herndon, Lincoln’s future law partner and biographer, said “it was highly sophomoric in character and abounded in striking and lofty metaphor . . . the thing people expect from a young man.”

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Often those wanderers end up dying, Tom tells Robbie, who doesn’t appreciate the metaphor.

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Sir Terry later described the project as a "tremendous release", and the Royal Academy called it a "pop building, through its sheer abundance of metaphor".

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Related Words

• analogy 
• image 
• symbol