Uttered by Neil Armstrong just before he set foot on the moon, this quote demonstrates how the same action can be interpreted in radically different ways. In this case, Armstrong alludes to a literal construal of his action and a more figurative one. Although it was a short distance from the space probe to the moon's surface, Armstrong's step would not have been possible without the combined efforts of those on the Apollo project to conceive and implement the mission. As such, Armstrong's journey to the moon was a sign of the scientific progress made in the twentieth century. The phrase “one giant leap” is not meant to be understood as a physical action, but rather as a metaphor for the scientific progress that had made the Apollo project possible.

Armstrong's action can also be interpreted metonymically. Metonymy is a figure of speech in which an object is referred to by one of its attributes, or by something with which it is commonly associated. In this case, Armstrong employs part-whole metonymy in which the whole species (“mankind”) is evoked by one of its members. Because the journey represents the results of centuries of general scientific progress, and more specifically the efforts of the thousands of engineers, scientists, and bureaucrats involved in the Apollo program, Armstrong's voyage has been conceptualized as a public voyage on behalf of all earth-bound humanity. In the metonymic mapping, the leap corresponds to the entire journey from earth to the moon, which culminates in the final step.