iceberg

[ahys-burg]

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.

iceberg

/ 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

iceberg

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

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

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of iceberg¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of iceberg¹

C18: probably part translation of Middle Dutch ijsberg ice mountain; compare Norwegian isberg

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

Snow lashed against the pilothouse windows while he and his crew struggled to control the vessel and steer clear of icebergs.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The system is currently in about one in every seven cars on the road globally, but Chief Executive John Giamatteo said that might just be the tip of the iceberg.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

He said the discovery was exciting and "the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to understanding why these animals live such extraordinarily long lives.

Read more on BBC

There are upsides: drinking clear water straight from streams, swimming with icebergs with nobody else in sight.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But there is still a worry that the official case numbers are merely the tip of the iceberg – and a fear of what may lie beneath the surface.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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