the use of a word or phrase, when a part of something is used in order to refer to the whole of it, or the whole to refer to a part. For example, you can use the word ‘wheels’ to mean a car, or you can say ‘the Government’ when you mean certain members of the government.
Synonyms and related words
Types of word or phrase
acrostic
adjacency pair
Americanism
synecdoche
noun countable/uncountable linguistics
US /sɪnˈekdəki/
Word Forms
singular
synecdoche
plural
synecdoches
DEFINITIONS1
1
the use of a word or phrase, when a part of something is used in order to refer to the whole of it, or the whole to refer to a part. For example, you can use the word “wheels” to mean a car, or you can say “the Government” when you mean certain members of the government.