iceberg

American  

[ahys-burg] / ˈaɪs bɜrg /

noun

icebergs plural

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.

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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

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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.

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iceberg Cultural  

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

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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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• icebergs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of iceberg

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

Explanation

An iceberg is a huge chunk of ice that breaks off of a glacier and floats around the ocean. Most of an iceberg is under water and can't be seen; that's how a sneaky iceberg managed to sink the Titanic. Icebergs exist in the coldest waters on the planet — the largest icebergs ever observed have been in Antarctica. An iceberg is blamed in the famous sinking of the Titanic in 1912, and the disaster inspired a new system for tracking and measuring icebergs. Another kind of iceberg is the lettuce, which is crisp and nearly as pale as an actual iceberg. The colloquial "tip of the iceberg" means the smallest hint of a much larger problem.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

iceberg icebergs

Hetty Lui McKinnon’s recipe calls for a head of iceberg lettuce, stir-fried, then topped with crispy garlic and a fried egg and served over a warm bowl of rice.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

The following day, Taylor Farms said it was voluntarily recalling all of its iceberg lettuce from central Mexico.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026

Cyclospora linked to iceberg lettuce has spread to nine US states, part of the largest reported outbreak in US history, health officials said on Friday.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Investigators from the Food and Drug Administration announced over the weekend that iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms had tested positive for cyclospora but later retracted that statement saying it was a false positive.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

It was a battle of strength, whales versus robots, with the iceberg caught in between.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

I instead recall coasting past a flotilla of icebergs in Alaska’s Glacier Bay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

As the ice sheet, which reached several miles thick in some areas, broke apart, it produced large numbers of icebergs.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 4, 2026

And because he is the centerpiece of the show, I rely on Noah a lot for guidance and help figuring out how to steer through all the icebergs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026

But beneath the smooth-sailing surface, the icebergs are still there.

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025

A lone Danish coastguard stood bundled in furs, his horse beside him, and he shaded his eyes against the glint of the icebergs beyond the sail and watched the strangers come swiftly in toward land.

From "Grendel" by John Gardner

Related Words

• abstract
• candid
• detached
• disinterested
• sober
• unbiased
• unemotional