A simple metaphor definition: a metaphor is a figure of speech that describes something by saying it is something else, to show how the two are alike. When a tired parent says "this house is a zoo", nobody thinks there are lions in the kitchen; the metaphor carries the noise and chaos of a zoo over to the house.
Metaphors are not only for poets. People use them all the time without noticing, in phrases like "a heart of gold", "time is money" or "a bright idea". Understanding the mechanics lets you read closely, write vividly and spot when a comparison is doing quiet persuasion.
Entry at a glance
Meaning
Describing one thing as another to suggest they share qualitiesPart of speech
Noun (metaphorical: adjective; metaphorically: adverb)Pronunciation
MET-uh-forWord forms
metaphors, metaphorical, metaphoric, metaphoricallyOrigin
Greek metaphora, "a carrying over", via Latin and French; in English from the late 1400sClose terms
simile, analogy, imagery, symbolField
Grammar, literature, rhetoric, everyday speech
Metaphor definition, piece by piece: tenor and vehicle
Every metaphor has two parts. The tenor (or target) is the thing you are really talking about. The vehicle (or source) is the thing you borrow to describe it. In "her words were knives", the tenor is her words and the vehicle is knives. What they share, the sharp, hurtful quality, is sometimes called the ground.
A metaphor works because the listener knows the comparison is not literally true. The small jolt of "that cannot be so" makes the mind search for the shared quality, and that search is what makes metaphors memorable.
Kinds of metaphor
- Direct metaphor: X is Y. "The classroom was an oven."
- Implied metaphor: the vehicle is hinted at, not named. "He barked an order at the interns" treats him as a dog without saying so.
- Extended metaphor: one comparison carried through several lines or a whole piece, such as describing a career as a voyage with storms, harbours and new shores.
- Dead metaphor: a comparison so familiar that we no longer see it, like the leg of a table or the foot of a hill.
- Mixed metaphor: two clashing images joined by mistake, as in "we will burn that bridge when we come to it".
Everyday metaphor examples
- My inbox is a swamp this morning.
- The new coach is the engine of the team.
- Grandpa has a heart of gold.
- She is drowning in assignments this week.
- That exam was a breeze.
- The city was a sea of umbrellas during the monsoon rush hour.
Metaphor vs simile and other cousins
| Device | How it compares | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Metaphor | Says A is B | The stage was a battlefield. |
| Simile | Says A is like or as B | The stage was like a battlefield. |
| Analogy | Explains A through a detailed parallel with B | A heart works like a pump moving water through pipes. |
| Personification | Gives human traits to non-human things | The wind whispered at the window. |
| Allegory | An entire narrative carrying a second, concealed layer | A fable about animals that is really about a society |
A handy test: if you see like or as doing the comparing, you have a simile. Many teachers file personification under metaphor too.
Origin of the word
Metaphor comes from the Greek metaphora, "a transfer", from metapherein, "to carry over", made of meta (across) and pherein (to carry). It travelled via Latin and then French and has been written in English since roughly the closing years of the 1400s, so the metaphor meaning in English is centuries old. The idea in the name matches the device: meaning is carried across from one thing to another. Fittingly, modern Greek still uses the same word for moving goods and people from place to place.
Using metaphors well
Pick a vehicle your reader knows well; a cricket metaphor may lose readers who have never watched a match. Keep one image at a time to avoid mixed metaphors. In formal or technical writing, use metaphor sparingly and make sure the literal meaning is still clear. When you analyse a text, name the tenor and vehicle and say what qualities transfer, and explain why the writer chose that image. For more terms like imagery and idiom, browse the literary terms hub.
Frequently asked questions
What is the definition of metaphor in simple words?
Put plainly, a metaphor presents one thing as a different thing so that you notice a likeness. Calling a busy road a river of cars is a metaphor.
Is a metaphor different from a simile?
A simile uses like or as to compare: brave as a lion. A metaphor drops those words and says the thing is the other: he is a lion in battle.
What is the meaning of metaphor in a poem?
What does a metaphor mean in poetry? It lets the poet pack feeling and meaning into a strong image. Readers are expected to work out which qualities are being carried over.
Is "time is money" a metaphor?
Yes. It treats time as something you can spend, save or waste like money. Many everyday expressions grow from this kind of deep, shared metaphor.
What is a mixed metaphor?
It is when two metaphors that do not fit together are combined, such as "let us nip it in the bud before it snowballs". It often sounds funny, so careful writers avoid it unless the joke is intended.
How do you define metaphor for a school test?
Write that a metaphor is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things by saying one is the other, without using like or as. Then add one example.