Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for tip of the iceberg

tip of the iceberg

  1. 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.


Discover More

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]

Advertisement

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


tipofftip one's hand