metaphor

CEFRC1

/ˈmɛ.tə.fə/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A way of describing one thing by saying it is another thing.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A word or phrase used in such implied comparison.

Examples

  • "He's a tiger when he's angry" is an example of metaphor.

  • It's apparently a metaphor for something uncatchable, light of body and fleet of foot.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
4

Also pronounced

  • /ˈmɛt.ə.foɹ/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The use of a word, phrase, concept, or set of concepts to refer to something other than its literal meaning, invoking an implicit similarity between the thing described and what is denoted by the word, etc., that is used.

  2. The use of an everyday object or concept to represent an underlying facet of the computer and thus aid users in performing tasks.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To use a metaphor.

More examples

In context

  • A game of football used as a metaphor for the competitive struggle of life

  • 1979, Daniel Breazeale (translator), Friedrich Nietzsche, On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense [1873, Über Wahrheit und Lüge im außermoralischen Sinn], in Philosophy and Truth, page 84, quoted in 1998, Ian Markham, Truth and the Reality of God: An Essay in N...

  • desktop metaphor, wastebasket metaphor

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

When she said 'her heart is gold', she used a blank.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle French métaphore, from Latin metaphora, from Ancient Greek μεταφορά (metaphorá), from μεταφέρω (metaphérō, “to transfer, apply”), from μετά (metá, “with, across, after”) + φέρω (phérō, “to bear, carry”).