Synecdoche: You Use It Every Day Whether You Know It Or Not

Whether you’re a poet, a fiction novelist, or a journalist, knowing when to use certain literary devices can completely transform your writing. But it’s not all metaphors and oxymorons that can fill your blank page and make your work more vivid for your readers. In fact, you probably don’t even realize that you use language in many different ways every day, both in casual conversation and in writing. There’s nothing stopping you from making a conscious effort to bring these tropes into your work, and we’re here to give you the rundown on everything synecdoche. Never heard of it before? That’s okay!

We’ll explain what a synecdoche is and give you a few examples to help you grasp the concept. You’ll soon see that everything from famous poems to common slang all use synecdoches to bring extra meaning and imagery to what the speaker is trying to say.

What Is Synecdoche?

Let’s start with a synecdoche definition: It’s a figure of speech wherein a part is used to describe the whole or, on the flip side, the whole is used to describe the part.

For instance, if you tell someone to “come check out my new wheels,” you obviously mean your car. You don’t just mean the actual wheels themselves! But the wheels, the part, is used to signify the whole, the car.

Similarly, you might ask your friends if they want to “go to the movies.” You’re not seeing every single movie ever made, just one! So the part, the one film you’re seeing, is described using the whole, the collection of entertainment the film belongs to.

Since there’s a common association with those phrases, we all understand what they mean in a figurative way. Because of these common associations, synecdoches are a type of metonymy—a literary device where a figure of speech is used to replace another phrase with a similar meaning.

So what’s the purpose of a synecdoche when you could simply use the literal word rather than something figurative? Just like other literary devices, synecdoches are a way to make your writing more entertaining or interesting or to convey a certain idea or feeling to your readers.

While you might think that synecdoche is only useful in literature or reporting to save a little on the word count, as you can see, it’s frequently used in everyday language. It’s another way that we can express ourselves through our words and shift the meaning of what we say.

How to Pronounce Synecdoche

Like most words in the English lexicon, the origins can be traced all the way back to ancient languages. Synecdoche is pronounced as sih-nek-duh-kee and comes from the Greek for “simultaneous meaning.”

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Types of Synecdoche

Macrocosm

Synecdoches typically fall into one of two categories. Macrocosms are when the whole is being used to refer to the part. If you’re struggling to remember the difference between this and microcosm, remember that macro = big, so you’re zooming out to use the larger subject to refer to the smaller one.

An example of this is the phrases we use to describe political groupings. Typically, you’ll see journalists refer to “the White House” or “Downing Street” in their publications. They don’t literally mean the buildings or geographic locations, but instead use these phrases to refer to their political associations—specifically, the President or Prime Minister and their administrations. So the big (the location) is being used to refer to the small (the administration).

Microcosm

In contrast, microcosms focus on the small part referring to something bigger. For example, the phrase “that’s her bread and butter” is often used to mean someone’s livelihood or career. This is what puts their food, the figurative bread and butter, on their table. We also hear people refer to their credit or debit cards as “plastic,” since that’s often what the physical cards are made from.

Another commonly used microcosm is the phrase “lend me a hand” to ask for help. Obviously, you need the whole person to help you, not just their hand! But the smaller part, the hand, refers to the larger part, the person, and the common association that has been created with this phrase ensures that we all understand its meaning.

Examples of Synecdoche

As we’ve seen, synecdoches are incredibly common in our daily language. Here are a few more examples you might come across:

Using “heads” as a way to count people. You’ll often hear teachers use this when making sure that everyone is back on the bus after a field trip or when someone is planning a dinner party and setting the table.
Speaking of dinner parties, “bubbly” is commonly used to refer to champagne. Bubbles are just one part of the drink, but it’s now widely known to refer to this beverage rather than a soft drink or soda.
Another common usage for synecdoches in journalism is when someone is noted as being interviewed or approached by a publication—á la, “the billionaire was approached by Forbes for comment.” The whole of Forbes didn’t ask for a quote from the individual, but the whole publication is used to refer to the specific Forbes journalist who conducted the interview.

In the world of business and advertising, synecdoches often turn a brand name into common language. Coke, Band-Aid, and Kleenex are all examples of this phenomenon. An individual may be looking for the type of item that these words represent and not those brands specifically, but the brand names are now used to refer to the product category collectively.

Synecdoche in Poetry

Some of the best synecdoche examples are often found in poetry, as they help to shorten a phrase into something more powerful and meaningful that changes the entire tone of the work.

Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is a great example of synecdoche. He repeatedly uses “Denmark” to refer to the King of Denmark, and in “Macbeth,” the title character states, “Take thy face hence,” when asking a servant to leave.
In “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Coleridge, the line “The western wave was all a-flame” refers to the sun shining across the whole ocean.

The poetry of Emily Dickinson is frequently cited for her repeated use of synecdoches. “The Eyes around” from “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died” refers to the people in the room watching the speaker.

Write What You Already Know

You’re probably using synecdoches in your speech more than you notice, so why not try incorporating them into your writing? Start with phrases that you’ve heard before and that you know have common associations before moving on to creating your own.

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