synecdoche
/sinekd ki/ noun a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in England lost by six wickets (meaning the English cricket team). ORIGIN Greek sunekdokhe, from sun- together + ekdekhesthai take up.
Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary
About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day
Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names
|