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.

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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

• 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”; meta-, -phore

Compare meaning

How does metaphor compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• allegory vs. metaphor

Example Sentences

His central metaphor is the memory palace, an ancient Greek mnemonic technique that employs spatial imagination to organize and access information.

From The Wall Street Journal

Opalite is a man-made version of the stone - which Swift uses as a metaphor for the fact her happiness is a tangible, human phenomenon, instead of a product of luck or magoc.

From BBC

For Ms. Back, teaching literature was a performance, in which she stood before the classroom and marveled at “the glorious metaphor, the heartbreaking image, the joy-inspiring music of the poem.”

From The Wall Street Journal

“What a Wonderful World” treats dissonance, cacophony and intensity as metaphors for daily life.

From Los Angeles Times

Her dress designer fashions the closest thing the film has to a metaphor for Melania herself: a gown constructed with no visible seams.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• analogy
• image
• symbol