metaphor

met·a·phor

noun \ˈme-tə-ˌfȯr also -fər\

Definition of METAPHOR

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 2

— met·a·phor·ic \ˌme-tə-ˈfȯr-ik, -ˈfär-\ or met·a·phor·i·cal \-i-kəl\ adjective

— met·a·phor·i·cal·ly \-i-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Examples of METAPHOR

1. “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.
2. Her poems include many imaginative metaphors.
3. a poet admired for her use of metaphor
4. 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
5. The hapless Humpty Dumpty often crops up as a metaphor for the second law of thermodynamics. —Charles Day, Physics Today, December 2002
6. 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
7. 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 Past, 1993

Origin of METAPHOR

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

Related to METAPHOR

Synonyms: conceit

Related Words: device; analogy, circumlocution, code word, crank, dead metaphor, euphemism, simile; catachresis, mixed metaphor

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Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, semiotics, simile

Rhymes with METAPHOR

albacore, allosaur, alongshore, anaphor, anymore, archosaur, at death's door, at one's door, Bangalore, bargain for, Barrymore, canker sore, carnivore, carnosaur, close the door, Coimbatore, come in for, commodore, comprador, consignor, corridor, cuspidor, devisor, dinosaur, door-to-door, double door, Ecuador, either-or, Eleanor, elector, endospore, evermore, except for, forest floor, franchisor, from the floor, furthermore, general store, go in for, guarantor, Gwalior, hackamore, hadrosaur, hellebore, herbivore, heretofore, humidor, in line for, Koko Nor, komondor, Labrador, licensor, Lipitor, louis d'or, madrepore, Mangalore, man-of-war, manticore, matador, meteor, micropore, Minotaur, mirador, more and more, nevermore, not long for, omnivore, open-door, out-of-door, package store, parador, petit four, picador, pinafore, piscivore, pompadour, Pompadour, predator, promisor, pterosaur, saddle sore, sagamore, Salvador, semaphore, servitor, standard score, stand up for, stegosaur, stevedore, stick up for, superstore, sycamore, take the floor, theretofore, to die for, troubadour, tug-of-war, two-by-four, uncalled-for, underscore, unlooked-for, vavasor, warrantor