plural metaphors
1 : a word or phrase for one thing that is used to refer to another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar
[count]
“He was drowning in paperwork” is a metaphor in which having to deal with a lot of paperwork is being compared to drowning in an ocean of water.
Her poems include many imaginative metaphors.
[noncount]
a poet admired for her use of metaphor
— compare SIMILE; see also MIXED METAPHOR
2 [count] : an object, activity, or idea that is used as a symbol of something else — often + for
The author uses flight as a metaphor for freedom.
The veil is a metaphor for [=symbol of] secrecy.