metaphor
American
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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:
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!
Vocabulary lists containing metaphor
Some Helpful Poetry Terms
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Food as metaphor goes all the way back to the fruit in the Garden of Eden.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
That title is something of a metaphor, about connecting to a deep, abiding spirituality accessible to us all.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026
The house was a metaphor for the coldness of a relationship that’s faded and atrophied.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
The royals are depicted as the type of children who come round, break your toys and then disappear, in what might be an extended metaphor for how he saw Diana's story.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
“You would. Big white whale is a metaphor for everything. You live for pretentious metaphors.”
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
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
And I wasn’t entirely thrilled with “Backrooms” getting lost in the maze of its metaphors, either.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
Ads feature Leon guiding chief executives across mountains and rivers that double as metaphors for the risks posed by AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
"Game changer" is the i Paper's verdict as "Europe tackles Infantino" – continuing with the football metaphors.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
“Really? Huh. Here I was looking for symbolism and metaphors and, um . . . sometimes a duck is just a duck!”
From "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
