metaphor

noun

met·​a·​phor ˈme-tə-ˌfȯr How to pronounce metaphor (audio)
 also  -fər
1
: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them (as in drowning in money)
broadly : figurative language compare simile
2
: an object, activity, or idea treated as a metaphor : symbol sense 2
metaphoric adjective
or metaphorical

Did you know?

What is metaphor?

"You're a peach!" We've all heard the expression, and it's a good example of what we call metaphor. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase denoting one kind of object or action is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them: the person being addressed in "you're a peach" is being equated with a peach, with the suggestion being that the person is pleasing or delightful in the way that a peach is pleasing and delightful. A metaphor is an implied comparison, as in "the silk of the singer's voice," in contrast to the explicit comparison of the simile, which uses like or as, as in "a voice smooth like silk."

When we use metaphor, we make a leap beyond rational, ho-hum comparison to an identification or fusion of two objects, resulting in a new entity that has characteristics of both: the voice isn't like silk; it is silk. Many critics regard the making of metaphors as a system of thought antedating or bypassing logic. Metaphor is the fundamental language of poetry, although it is common on all levels and in all kinds of language.

Lots of common words we use every day were originally vivid images, although they exist now as dead metaphors whose original aptness has been lost. The word daisy, for example, comes from an Old English word meaning "day's eye." The ray-like appearance of the daisy, which opens and closes with the sun, is reminiscent of an eye that opens in the morning and closes at night. The expression time flies is also metaphorical, with time being identified with a bird.

In poetry a metaphor may perform varied functions, from noting simple similarity between things to evoking a broad set of associations; it may exist as a minor element, or it may be the central concept and controlling image of the poem. The metaphor of an iron horse for a train, for example, is the elaborate central concept of one of Emily Dickinson's poems—though neither iron horse nor train appears in the poem, the first and final stanzas of which are:

I like to see it lap the Miles—

And lick the Valleys up—

And stop to feed itself at Tanks—

And then—prodigious step

And neigh like Boanerges—

Then—prompter than a Star

Stop—docile and omnipotent

At it's own stable door—

A mixed metaphor is the linking of two or more elements that don't go together logically. It happens when the writer or speaker isn't being sensitive to the literal meaning of the words or to the falseness of the comparison being used. A mixed metaphor is often two metaphors sloppily mashed together as in, "the ball is in the court of public opinion," which joins "the ball is in your court" to "the court of public opinion."

A mixed metaphor may also be used with great effectiveness, however, as in Hamlet's speech:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

For strictly correct completion of the metaphor, sea should be replaced by a word like host. By using "sea of troubles," however, Shakespeare evokes the overwhelming nature of Hamlet's troubles.

Did you know?

Simile vs. Metaphor

Many people have trouble distinguishing between simile and metaphor. A glance at their Latin and Greek roots offers a simple way of telling these two closely-related figures of speech apart. Simile comes from the Latin word similis (meaning “similar, like”), which seems fitting, since the comparison indicated by a simile will typically contain the words as or like. Metaphor, on the other hand, comes from the Greek word metapherein (“to transfer”), which is also fitting, since a metaphor is used in place of something. “My love is like a red, red rose” is a simile, and “love is a rose” is a metaphor.

Examples of metaphor in a Sentence

You see, menudo is our chicken soup for the body and soul, our metaphor for bread-and-butter issues. Joe Rodriguez, San Jose Mercury News, 20 May 2003
The hapless Humpty Dumpty often crops up as a metaphor for the second law of thermodynamics. Charles Day, Physics Today, December 2002
Ben Strong, senior, football player, leader of the prayer group, the boy whose very name is a metaphor, has been besieged by the media for interviews. Jayne Anne Phillips, Harper's, November 1998
The number of songs containing ambiguous metaphors and intriguing but obscure symbolism could be extended indefinitely. Still,  … there are hollers, work songs, field songs, and blues whose meaning is really not subject to a great deal of interpretation. Lawrence W. Levine, "The Concept of the New Negro," 1971, in The Unpredictable Past1993
“He was drowning in paperwork” is a metaphor in which having to deal with a lot of paperwork is being compared to drowning in an ocean of water. Her poems include many imaginative metaphors. a poet admired for her use of metaphor
Recent Examples on the Web The device isn’t a final product and is very unlikely to become one, but Bendy Phone (my name, not Motorola’s) is kind of a metaphor for what Brain.ai wants to achieve: What if our mobile tech weren’t so rigid? Allison Johnson, The Verge, 1 Mar. 2024 And just like a house can be a metaphor, so can a band. Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 1 Mar. 2024 That might be true, but Buffett did copy a rhetorical device that’s a hallmark of Shakespeare’s style: the masterful use of metaphors and analogies that has contributed to his legacy. Carmine Gallo, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Poetically speaking, an albatross is also a metaphor for a great and inescapable moral or emotional burden (could this be why Swift kept putting her Grammy on people's heads?), which could also be read as a reference to Alwyn. Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 29 Feb. 2024 So, the lake featured in the series serves as a metaphor for the depths and complexities of her character and others around her and the realities they are confronted with. Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Feb. 2024 The new courthouse-in-waiting outside Awoniyi’s window is a ready metaphor for the changes in the Sacramento courts. Darrell Smith, Sacramento Bee, 26 Feb. 2024 Dorothy’s odyssey in the original production could be read as a metaphor for the Great Migration, and the film imagines late 1970s New York City as a gauntlet of urban blight. Naveen Kumar, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2024 On March 2, the ensemble finds a beautiful metaphor for its organizational model in the concerto grosso, a Baroque form in which multiple soloists spin glittery lines in dialogue with a larger unit of players. The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'metaphor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English methaphor, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French metaphore, from Latin metaphora, from Greek, from metapherein to transfer, from meta- + pherein to bear — more at bear

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of metaphor was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near metaphor

Cite this Entry

“Metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/metaphor. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

metaphor

noun
met·​a·​phor ˈmet-ə-ˌfȯ(ə)r How to pronounce metaphor (audio)
 also  -fər
: a figure of speech in which a word or phrase meaning one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a similarity between them (as in the ship plows the sea) compare simile
metaphoric adjective
or metaphorical
metaphorically adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on metaphor

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