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Synonyms

iceberg

American  
[ahys-burg] / ˈaɪs bɜrg /

noun

  1. a large floating mass of ice, detached from a glacier and carried out to sea.

  2. Informal. an emotionally cold person.

  3. Australian Informal. a person who swims or surfs regularly in winter.

idioms

  1. tip of the iceberg, the first hint or revelation of something larger or more complex.

    The new evidence in the case is just the tip of the iceberg.
iceberg British  
/ ˈaɪsbɜːɡ /

noun

  1. a large mass of ice floating in the sea, esp a mass that has broken off a polar glacier

  2. the small visible part of something, esp a problem or difficulty, that is much larger

  3. slang a person considered to have a cold or reserved manner

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
iceberg Scientific  
/ īs′bûrg′ /

  1. A massive body of floating ice that has broken away from a glacier or ice field. Most of an iceberg lies underwater, but because ice is not as dense as water, about one ninth of it remains above the surface.

iceberg Cultural  

  1. A large piece of ice that has broken away from a glacier at the shore and floated out to sea.

Discover More

Most of the ice in an iceberg is underwater, leaving only the “tip of the iceberg” visible — a fact that is often alluded to in discussions of subjects in which the most important aspects are hidden from view.

Etymology

Origin of iceberg

1765–75; half Anglicization, half adoption of Dutch ijsberg ice mountain; cognate with German Eisberg, Swedish isberg

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

These lawsuits are the tip of the iceberg.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

"We are potentially only seeing the tip of the iceberg," Dr. Tordjman said.

From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026

In the early 1970s, he launched a nationwide boycott of iceberg lettuce.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

In the book they ended up with the image of an iceberg, where you can only see what’s above the surface and not what’s really complicated underneath.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026

And while these surface thoughts were providing some distraction, I knew that the other nine-tenths of this mental iceberg, the deadly part that was hidden below, was all about Jeffrey.

From "Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie" by Jordan Sonnenblick

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.