Which term represents a part for the whole or the whole for a part?

• A. Synecdoche
• B. Metonymy
• C. Metaphor
• D. Irony

Answer: (A)

Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part stands for the whole, or the whole stands for a part. This captures exactly what the question describes: using a piece of something to represent the entire thing, or using the whole to represent one of its parts. For example, saying “all hands on deck” uses the part hands to refer to the sailors themselves, the whole crew. It can also work the other way around, with the whole standing in for a part in some contexts, such as referring to people collectively by a larger unit like the nation or organization. This differs from metonymy, which swaps a term for a closely related concept rather than a tangible part-whole relationship; metaphor, by contrast, makes a direct comparison between two different things; and irony is about a contrast between expectation and reality rather than substitution.