metaphor
[ met-uh-fawr, -fer ]
/ ˈmɛt əˌfɔr, -fər /
noun
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.”Compare mixed metaphor, simile(def 1).
something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else; emblem; symbol.
Words nearby metaphor
metapelet, metaph., metaphase, metaphase plate, metaphen, metaphor, metaphosphate, metaphosphoric acid, metaphrase, metaphrast, metaphys.
Origin of metaphor
OTHER WORDS FROM metaphor
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH metaphor
metaphor simileDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Examples from the Web for metaphor
British Dictionary definitions for metaphor
metaphor
/ (ˈmɛtəfə, -ˌfɔː) /
noun
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 battleCompare simile
Derived forms of metaphor
metaphoric (ˌmɛtəˈfɒrɪk) or metaphorical, adjectivemetaphorically, adverbmetaphoricalness, nounWord Origin for metaphor
C16: from Latin, from Greek metaphora, from metapherein to transfer, from meta- + pherein to bear
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Cultural definitions for metaphor
metaphor
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.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.