iceberg
[ahys-burg]
- a large floating mass of ice, detached from a glacier and carried out to sea.
- Informal. an emotionally cold person.
- Australian Informal. a person who swims or surfs regularly in winter.
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- 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.
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Origin of iceberg
1765–75; half Anglicization, half adoption of Dutch ijsberg ice mountain; cognate with German Eisberg, Swedish isberg
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
disinterestedabstractunbiasedcandidsoberdetachedunemotionalicebergicecapbergfloechunkglazehailcrystalicicleglaciersleetdiamondshailstoneExamples from the Web for iceberg
Contemporary Examples
In Russia, Uganda, and elsewhere around the world, legal change is the tip of the iceberg.
The recent botched executions are just the tip of the iceberg.
The logic here was a little unsound—if I remember the S.S. Titanic story, “Iceberg” would have been the right name.
Confusion over the catcher's eye black is just the tip of the iceberg for this befuddled limey.
As far as cash-grabs go, the VIP pass is only the tip of the iceberg.
Coachella, Oasis For Douchebags and Trust Fund Babies, Should Be Avoided At All CostsMarlow Stern
April 12, 2014
Historical Examples
There is an iceberg all ready to hand; weve only got to hollow it out.
The Field of IceJules Verne
I cast anchor under her lee—and 'twas like tyin' up to an iceberg at first.
Fair HarborJoseph Crosby Lincoln
Then, with Johnson's assistance, he built a resting-place in an iceberg.
Does the pine contradict the rose or the lotusland the iceberg?
Dreamers of the GhettoI. Zangwill
Something would have been hurt, but it would not have been the iceberg.
Notes on Life and LettersJoseph Conrad
iceberg
- a large mass of ice floating in the sea, esp a mass that has broken off a polar glacier
- tip of the iceberg the small visible part of something, esp a problem or difficulty, that is much larger
- slang, mainly US a person considered to have a cold or reserved manner
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Word Origin
C18: probably part translation of Middle Dutch ijsberg ice mountain; compare Norwegian isberg
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for iceberg
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
iceberg
[īs′bûrg′]
- 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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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
iceberg
A large piece of ice that has broken away from a glacier at the shore and floated out to sea.
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Note
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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.