TIP OF THE ICEBERG Definition & Meaning

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tip of the iceberg

Only a hint or suggestion of a much larger or more complex issue or problem: “The money missing from petty cash was only the tip of the iceberg of financial mismanagement.” This phrase alludes to the fact that the bulk of a floating iceberg is concealed beneath the water, leaving only a small portion, its tip, visible above.

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Idioms and Phrases

Superficial evidence of a much larger problem, as in Laying off a hundred workers is only the tip of the iceberg . This idiom alludes to the structure of an iceberg, most of whose bulk lies underwater. [Mid-1900s]

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Example Sentences

Ms Moroney said she was worried the cases being examined represented "the tip of the iceberg".

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“This paper we just published is the first that I expect to be a series of studies because this is just showing the tip of the iceberg,” Quian Quiroga said.

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The 200 items that turned up in the London auction were the tip of the iceberg.

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"People uploading misogyny, hate, misinformation, and that is just the tip of the iceberg," she said.

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And that would be "just the tip of the iceberg" of the health benefits.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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