figure of speech
Americannoun
plural
figures of speechany expressive use of language, as a metaphor, simile, personification, or antithesis, in which words are used in other than their literal sense, or in other than their ordinary locutions, in order to suggest a picture or image or for other special effect.
noun
an expression of language, such as simile, metaphor, or personification, by which the usual or literal meaning of a word is not employed
Etymology
Origin of figure of speech
First recorded in 1815–25
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“This wording, like going from minister of defense to minister of war — let’s hope it’s just a figure of speech,” he recently said in Italian.
FromSalon
In baseball parlance, that phrase is typically a figure of speech.
But it’s certainly more than a figure of speech.
“That’s a figure of speech. The purse is the prize money. His winnings.”
FromLiterature
The term “deafening silence” is even a common figure of speech.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
