ZEUGMA

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does zeugma mean? 

• ZEUGMA (noun)
  The noun ZEUGMA has 1 sense:

1. use of a verb with two or more complements, playing on the verb's polysemy, for humorous effect

  Familiarity information: ZEUGMA used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ZEUGMA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Use of a verb with two or more complements, playing on the verb's polysemy, for humorous effect

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

'Mr. Pickwick took his hat and his leave' is an example of zeugma

Hypernyms ("zeugma" is a kind of...):

figure; figure of speech; image; trope (language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "zeugma"):

syllepsis (use of a word to govern two or more words though agreeing in number or case etc. with only one)