Metonym

Quick meaning: Metonym is a noun meaning (grammar) A word that names an object from a single characteristic of it or of a closely related object; a word used in metonymy.

Meaning

(grammar) A word that names an object from a single characteristic of it or of a closely related object; a word used in metonymy.

More Meanings

1. (by extension) A concept, idea, or word used to represent, typify, or stand in for a broader set of ideas.

Example Sentences

Calling a government a "city hall" is using a metonym.

See also: symbol, model, microcosm, archetype, exemplar, proxy

...to say that "New York was thrown into a state of great excitement," when we mean the inhabitants of New York, is technically to use the metonym of putting "the container for the thing contained."

Chapter 1, using the railway as a metonym, explored the relationship between past and present, and argued that diachronic, or historical, time was dissolved in the proliferation of present moments, or synchronic time.

Word Forms

• metonyms

Synonyms for metonym

Depending on context, synonyms include synonym.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include metonymy, metonymic, paronym, comeronym, meronym, merismus.

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