tip of the iceberg
A small indication of a larger possibility; the first part encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems.
This is only the tip of the iceberg. Our time together can become much more exciting.
iceberg
UK /ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/ US /ˈaɪsbɝɡ/
noun 5
Collocations
4ADJ.
above, huge, small, titanic, under
VERB + ICEBERG
collided, comes, hit, like, part, ship, tip, wrapped
ICEBERG + NOUN
himself, lettuce, salad, water, wedge
PREP.
from, in, off, with
Definitions
noun
1
The seaward end of a glacier.
2
A huge mass of ocean-floating ice which has broken off a glacier or ice shelf
The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank.
Clissold the excellent cook, who should have gone with the motor party, tumbled off a small iceberg and concussed himself while posing or 'ponting' as it had come to be known- Griffith Taylor, with his usual wit, had defined 'to pont' as 'to spend a deuce of a time posing in an uncomfortable position'.
3
An aloof person.
4
An impending disastrous event whose adverse effects are only beginning to show.
He has little to lose: at present he will go down in history, alongside George W. Bush, as a skipper who ignored the looming fiscal iceberg.
5
A topic that is more convoluted and fractal than it may seem.
Near-synonym: rabbit hole
Do some digging into that politician's past life and associates, and you'll see that the iceberg runs deep.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
noun — a large mass of ice floating at sea
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
601
The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank.
Wiktionary02
Clissold the excellent cook, who should have gone with the motor party, tumbled off a small iceberg and concussed himself while posing or 'ponting' as it had come to be known- Griffith Taylor, with hi
Wiktionary03
The passengers still on board were keen to watch as Tessa's crew scrambled for their positions, and she heard jokes about icebergs and devil's triangles, and anxious childish queries answered by sooth
Wiktionary04
The passengers were asleep in their cabins when the ship hit a huge iceberg.
Tatoeba · #26840105
What you see above the water is just the tip of the iceberg.
Tatoeba · #27094406
It's the tip of the iceberg.
Tatoeba · #318342Usage Notes
i Register
In some senses, iceberg is marked as obsolete, slang, figuratively, US. Watch for register when choosing this word.
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