metonym
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What is a metonym? A metonym is a word or phrase that is used to stand for something that it’s associated with or related to. For example, the White House is a metonym for the current U. S. president or presidential administration. Metonyms are figures of speech (words or phrases used in expressive, often non-literal ways). The use of metonyms is called metonymy. Metonyms can be specific (like using Hollywood to mean the U. S. film industry) or general (like using suit to mean a businessperson). A metonym is one of many rhetorical devices that we use daily in ordinary speech and writing, often without realizing it.
Etymology
Origin of metonym
First recorded in 1830–40; back formation from metonymy
Explanation
A metonym is a figure of speech in which an object or idea represents a larger concept that's related to it. Do you know someone who refers to her car as her "ride"? She's using a metonym. Once you start looking for metonyms, you'll realize how common they are. Ever heard the phrase "the pen is mightier than the sword"? Here, "the pen" is a metonym for writing in general, and "the sword" stands for war or violence. Have you ever read a book that referred to a monarch as "the crown"? Or heard a newscaster talk about the White House making a comment? These are also metonyms. The Greek root, metonymia, means "a change of name."
Vocabulary lists containing metonym
That’s So Meta: Words About Words
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Roots: nym
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nym
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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.
They lived as individuals and they died, tragically and way too soon, in a way that comes to be a metonym for the experience of being "American" for a lot of people.
From Salon • Mar. 18, 2024
It’s more metonym for the glamorous arrivals than a literal description of what everyone is walking on.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 10, 2023
Belle and Sebastian’s first two albums, “Tigermilk” and “If You’re Feeling Sinister,” both released in 1996, congealed a certain starry-eyed preciousness with unrepentantly adorable shambolics, near-instantly making the band a metonym for tweedom writ large.
From Washington Post • Jan. 17, 2023
If Leimert Park is a metonym for Black L.A., it’s because it tethers seemingly contradictory aspects of the city’s Black culture.
From Los Angeles Times • May 26, 2021
"Bartús" is evidently formed "on the weight" of "Bartút;" and his metonym is a caricature, a chaff fit for Fellahe.
From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 09 by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
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.
