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.
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Origin of metaphor
OTHER WORDS FROM metaphor
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH metaphor
metaphor , simile.Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences 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.