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

The salmonella outbreak overlaps with the nation’s largest-ever cyclospora outbreak, tied to shredded iceberg lettuce, that has sickened thousands of people over the past several weeks.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

Taylor has since voluntarily removed iceberg lettuce sourced from central Mexico from the U.S. market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Taylor Farms also issued a recall that day of all iceberg lettuce sourced from Central Mexico from a certain time period.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Video captured by an eyewitness showed the moment the iceberg turned over, creating waves close to the coastal city.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Makes my heart sink like that big ship that hit an iceberg underwater.

From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

Many Antarctic glaciers are tidewater glaciers, meaning they sit on the ocean floor and extend into the sea, where they release icebergs.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 26, 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

Miles decorated the office with pictures of penguins jumping off icebergs and gave out “penguin awards” to people who tried ideas that didn’t work and kept trying.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025

Everything is whirling around in a big bunch of motion and energy crashing into each other at the size of atoms and icebergs, and will crumble eventually.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

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