[ahys-burg] 
| 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. |
| 4. | 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. |
| tip of the iceberg n. pl. tips of the iceberg A small evident part or aspect of something largely hidden: afraid that these few reported cases of the disease might only be the 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.
A large piece of ice that has broken away from a glacier at the shore and floated out to sea.
Note: 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.
iceberg
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iceberg (īs'bûrg') Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window) 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. |
tip of the iceberg
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]