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.

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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.

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

The vessel struck an iceberg on its way from Southampton to New York and sank within hours.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

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 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

If I lived on an iceberg, Mom would live inside a volcano.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Related Words

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