C2
an expression, often found in literature, that describes a person or object by referring to something that is considered to have similar characteristics to that person or object:
Meaning of metaphor in English
(Definition of metaphor from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
metaphor | American Dictionary
literature
an expression that describes a person or object by referring to something that is considered to possess similar characteristics:
metaphorical
adjective us
/ˌmet̬·əˈfɔr·ɪ·kəl, -ˈfɑr-/
metaphorical expressions
Examples of metaphor
metaphor
The geographical metaphor is particularly useful when discussing the internal structure of a program, and hence it tends to predominate in more technical texts.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
We have applied the same idea to teaching music by arguing for body movement as a physical metaphor between musical activities and conceptual thinking.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
There are phenomena that occur only at certain scales, and which thereby are poor models or metaphors for other levels.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
One method of making this prior knowledge explicit is to examine the metaphors preservice teachers use during their practice teaching.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
This property alone has fundamental consequences for the solutions that we expect from any model that is based on that metaphor.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Ghosts may seem to elude serious scholars except as metaphor or atmosphere, but there is a surprising abundance of books about them.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
In this magnum opus he used biological metaphors to analyse the functioning of a national economic system and elaborate a detailed typology of socio-economic phenomena.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
With respect to the problem of invisibility, the crystal metaphor offers an elegant solution.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Indeed, rhythm becomes a complicated metaphor for sexuality in the song, a metaphor set up through the dual working of verbal and rhythmic meaning.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
His enthusiasm for his subject produces some excessive stylistic flourishes, dramatic metaphors, rhetorical questions.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
This metaphor naturally lends itself to an intuitive graphical representation of connectors and their composition that strongly resembles (asynchronous) electronic circuit diagrams.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
To follow the metaphor of landscape, we suggest an apparatus for environmental change that is like a cloud.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
It would have been tempting to let the metaphor decide, say by exiting into a cloister, or by retrograde back the way one came.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Through consideration of both traditional instruments and new technology-driven interfaces, we explore the role that metaphor plays in developing expressive devices.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Concerning art practice, 'rhizome' can be adapted as a metaphor of speaker cables.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Collocations with metaphor
metaphor
These are words often used in combination with metaphor.
Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.
central metaphor
The vast body of evidence presented and referred to in the target article demonstrates the heuristic value of the central metaphor.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
conceptual metaphor
Indeed, elaborations at this more specific level may, perhaps more plausibly, give rise to the more general abstractions in evidence in conceptual metaphor theory.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
extended metaphor
It is difficult to do justice to a work of scholarship that is written in the form of an extended metaphor.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
Translations of metaphor
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रुपक…
mecaz, benzetme…
métaphore…
beeldspraak…
இலக்கியத்தில் பெரும்பாலும் காணப்படும் ஒரு வெளிப்பாடு, ஒரு நபர் அல்லது பொருளை அந்த நபர் அல்லது பொருளுக்கு ஒத்த பண்புகளைக் கொண்டதாகக் கருதப்படும் ஒன்றைக் குறிப்பிடுவதன் மூலம் விவரிக்கிறது…
(साहित्य में) रूपक, एक वस्तु या व्यक्ति को दिखाने के लिए दूसरे समान व्यक्ति या वस्तु को संदर्भित करना…
રૂપક અલંકાર…
metafor…
metafor…
metafora…
die Metapher…
metafor…
کنایہ, استعار (بطور خاص ادبی تحریروں میں نظر آتا ہے)…
метафора…
метафора…
రూపకాలంకారం / సాహిత్యంలో తరచుగా కనిపించే ఒక వ్యక్తీకరణ, ఆ వ్యక్తి లేదా వస్తువుతో సమానమైన లక్షణాలను కలిగి ఉన్నట్లు భావించే దానిని సూచించడం ద్వారా ఒక వ్యక్తి లేదా వస్తువును వివరిస్తుంది.…
রূপক…
metafora…
metafora…
คำอุปมา…
phép ẩn dụ…
metafora, przenośnia…
