figure of speech
"figure-of-speech" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“figure of speech” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use to produce a rhetorical effect.
Corpus desk
Index EN-figure-of-speech · figure of speech · English
figure of speech · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 16 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | figure of speech |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “figure of speech” in English
Rare enough to double-check
figure of speech is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for figure of speech in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is figure of speech, spelled F-I-G-U-R-E- -O-F- -S-P-E-E-C-H.
Definition
- 1A word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use to produce a rhetorical effect.
- 2A turn of phrase that is not intended to be interpreted literally, but is used solely as a rhetorical device for the purpose of facilitating effective and nuanced communication.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how figure of speech appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I hope you didn't take it the wrong way, that was a figure of speech.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.