tip of the iceberg
Syllables: tip of the ice·bergUK/ˈtɪp‿əv ðiː ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/US/ˈtɪp‿əv ði ˈaɪsbɝɡ/
tip of the iceberg noun: a small indication of a larger possibility; the first part encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems.
Noun
tip of the iceberg (plural tips of icebergs or (rare) tips of the icebergs)
- A small indication of a larger possibility; the first part encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems.
- This is only the tip of the iceberg. Our time together can become much more exciting.
- It is sufficient that the former provided the setting for implanting in the minds of the jury the notion that Sinhel had engaged in other related crimes and making that notion explicit with regard to the defendant by the "tip of the iceberg" argument. In short, the prosecutor insinuated Sinhel had...1968 July 18, [Harrison Lee] Winter, Circuit Judge, “[Appendix A] United States of America, Appellee, versus Bernard D. Grossman, Apellant”, in Bernard D. Grossman, Petitioner, v. United States of...
Examples of tip of the iceberg in a sentence
- The exposed tip of the iceberg, the recognized illness that brings a man to his doctor, is relatively small compared with the hidden mass of undetected disease, or 'at risk' people, in the population.1970, J. K. Brierley, “The Iceberg of Disease”, in Biology and the Social Crisis: A Social Biology for Everyman, 1st American edition...
- And it may be that the current unrest is just the tip of the iceberg.1977 September, “The Tip of the Iceberg”, in John H[arold] Johnson, editor, Ebony, volume XXXII, number 11, Chicago, Ill.: Johnson...
- Records document nineteen legal cases involving the charge of sodomy and five executions from 1607 to 1740, although this is no doubt just the tip of the iceberg of actual incidents.1999, Leila J. Rupp, “In the Beginning: Same-sex Sexuality in Early America”, in A Desired Past: A Short History of Same-sex Love in...
- [O]nly a tiny portion of disagreements—the proverbial tip of the iceberg—ever ends up in court.2001, Kathryn Hendley, “Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg: Business Disputes in Russia”, in Peter Murrell, editor, Assessing the Value of Law...
Forms of tip of the iceberg
| plural | tips of icebergs |
|---|---|
| plural (rare) | tips of the icebergs |
Origin of tip of the iceberg
From the fact that floating icebergs typically have about nine-tenths of their volume below the surface of the water. Early 20th-century uses of the term are believed to have been influenced by the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic on April 15, 1912 after it struck an iceberg.
Words formed from tip of the iceberg
Questions about tip of the iceberg
- What does tip of the iceberg mean?
- Tip of the iceberg means a small indication of a larger possibility; the first part encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems.
- How do you use tip of the iceberg in a sentence?
- The exposed tip of the iceberg, the recognized illness that brings a man to his doctor, is relatively small compared with the hidden mass of undetected disease, or 'at risk' people, in the population.
- What part of speech is tip of the iceberg?
- Tip of the iceberg is a noun.
- How do you pronounce tip of the iceberg?
- Tip of the iceberg is pronounced /ˈtɪp‿əv ðiː ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of tip of the iceberg?
- The plural of tip of the iceberg is tips of icebergs.
Words near tip of the iceberg in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: tip of the iceberg (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-tip of the iceberg.ogg.
Cite this entry: “tip of the iceberg.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/tip_of_the_iceberg. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.