metonymy.

A figure of speech that names something through another thing closely associated with it.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• the crown as metonymy
• metonymic reference

On the page

The report’s use of the palace as metonymy concealed which officials had decided.

She replaced the metonymy when the actual speaker’s identity mattered.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Usually uncountable; plural metonymies for separate uses. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.