Associations to the word «Metaphor»

Wiktionary

METAPHOR, noun. (uncountable) (figure of speech) The use of a word or phrase to refer to something that it isn’t, invoking a direct similarity between the word or phrase used and the thing described, but in the case of English without the words like or as, which would imply a simile.
METAPHOR, noun. (countable) (rhetoric) The word or phrase used in this way. An implied comparison.
METAPHOR, noun. (countable) (GUI) The use of an everyday object or concept to represent an underlying facet of the computer and thus aid users in performing tasks.

Dictionary definition

METAPHOR, noun. A figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity.

Wise words

A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and time in which it is used.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.