"tip of the iceberg" meaning in English

See tip of the iceberg in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈtɪp‿əv ðiː ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈtɪp‿əv ði ˈaɪsbɝɡ/ [General-American] Audio: En-au-tip of the iceberg.ogg Forms: tips of icebergs [plural], tips of the icebergs [plural, rare]
Etymology: From the fact that floating icebergs typically have about nine-tenths of their volume below the surface of the water. Early 20th-century uses of the term are believed to have been influenced by the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic on 15 April 1912 after it struck an iceberg. Head templates: {{en-noun|tips of icebergs|tips of the icebergs|pl2qual=rare}} tip of the iceberg (plural tips of icebergs or (rare) tips of the icebergs)
  1. (idiomatic) A small indication of a larger possibility; the first part encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems. Tags: idiomatic Derived forms: tip of the ice cube Related terms: cockroach theory, drop in the ocean, scratch the surface Translations (small indication of a larger possibility): oortjies van die seekoei (Afrikaans), punt van die ysberg (Afrikaans), връ́х на а́йсберга (vrǎ́h na ájsberga) [masculine] (Bulgarian), punta de l'iceberg [feminine] (Catalan), 冰山一角 (bīngshān yījiǎo) (Chinese Mandarin), špička ledovce [feminine] (Czech), toppen av isbjerget (Danish), topje van de ijsberg [neuter] (Dutch), jäämäe tipp (Estonian), jäävuoren huippu (Finnish), partie émergée de l’iceberg [feminine] (French), partie visible de l’iceberg [feminine] (French), sommet de l’iceberg [masculine] (French), punta do iceberg [masculine] (Galician), Spitze des Eisbergs [feminine] (German), κορυφή του παγόβουνου (koryfí tou pagóvounou) [feminine] (Greek), קצה הקרחון (Hebrew), a jéghegy csúcsa (Hungarian), toppur á ísjakanum [masculine] (Icelandic), punta dell'iceberg [feminine] (Italian), 氷山の一角 (hyōzan-no ikkaku) (alt: ひょうざんのいっかく) (Japanese), 빙산의 일각 (bingsanui ilgak) (Korean), toppen av isfjellet [masculine] (Norwegian Bokmål), toppen av isfjellet [masculine] (Norwegian Nynorsk), partida emergida de l'iceberg (Occitan), poncha de l'iceberg (Occitan), punta de l'iceberg (Occitan), debuta (Occitan), wierzchołek góry lodowej [masculine] (Polish), ponta do icebergue [feminine] (Portuguese), superfície [feminine] (Portuguese), верху́шка а́йсберга (verxúška ájsberga) [feminine] (Russian), cìrean na tuile [masculine] (Scottish Gaelic), вр̏х ле̏дено̄г брије̑га [Cyrillic, masculine] (Serbo-Croatian), вр̏х ле̏дено̄г бре̑га [Cyrillic, masculine] (Serbo-Croatian), vȑh lȅdenōg brijȇga [Roman, masculine] (Serbo-Croatian), vȑh lȅdenōg brȇga [Roman, masculine] (Serbo-Croatian), špička ľadovca [feminine] (Slovak), vrh ledene gore (Slovene), punta del iceberg [feminine] (Spanish), solo el inicio [feminine] (Spanish), toppen av ett isberg [common-gender] (Swedish), toppen av isberget [common-gender] (Swedish), buz dağının görünen kısmı (Turkish), верхі́вка а́йсберга (verxívka ájsberha) [feminine] (Ukrainian), crib y rhewfryn [feminine, masculine] (Welsh)

Inflected forms

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  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tips of icebergs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tips of the icebergs",
      "tags": [
        "plural",
        "rare"
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      "name": "en-noun"
    }
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  "hyphenation": [
    "tip"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
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      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "tip of the ice cube"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "This is only the tip of the iceberg. Our time together can become much more exciting.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1968 July 18, [Harrison Lee] Winter, Circuit Judge, “[Appendix A] United States of America, Appellee, versus Bernard D. Grossman, Apellant”, in Bernard D. Grossman, Petitioner, v. United States of America, Respondent: Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, [Richmond, Va.]: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, page 8a:",
          "text": "It is sufficient that the former provided the setting for implanting in the minds of the jury the notion that Sinhel had engaged in other related crimes and making that notion explicit with regard to the defendant by the \"tip of the iceberg\" argument. In short, the prosecutor insinuated Sinhel had been given many gifts and gratuities for an illegal purpose, probably from the defendant, beyond those for which the defendant was charged and beyond those for which proof was offered at the trial. The prejudice of a defendant of inviting conviction on facts—if they be such—dehors the record is counter to the basic concept of fairness.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1970, J. K. Brierley, “The Iceberg of Disease”, in Biology and the Social Crisis: A Social Biology for Everyman, 1st American edition, Rutherford, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, →ISBN, page 117:",
          "text": "The exposed tip of the iceberg, the recognized illness that brings a man to his doctor, is relatively small compared with the hidden mass of undetected disease, or 'at risk' people, in the population.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1977 September, “The Tip of the Iceberg”, in John H[arold] Johnson, editor, Ebony, volume XXXII, number 11, Chicago, Ill.: Johnson Publishing Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 132, column 2:",
          "text": "The blacking out of the lights of the nation's biggest city could be a blessing in disguise. It brought to light, dramatically, the deep unrest in a large part of the Black and Latin population and it emphasized the fact that something must be done and soon to quiet that unrest. And it may be that the current unrest is just the tip of the iceberg.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1996, Peter Medawar, “Scientific Fraud”, in The Strange Case of the Spotted Mice: And Other Classic Essays on Science, Oxford, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 196:",
          "text": "The number of dishonest scientists cannot, of course, be known, but even if they were common enough to justify scary talk of ‘tips of icebergs’ they have not been so numerous as to prevent science’s having become the most successful enterprise (in terms of the fulfilment of declared ambitions) that human beings have ever engaged upon.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999, Leila J. Rupp, “In the Beginning: Same-sex Sexuality in Early America”, in A Desired Past: A Short History of Same-sex Love in America, Chicago, Ill., London: University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 30:",
          "text": "Records document nineteen legal cases involving the charge of sodomy and five executions from 1607 to 1740, although this is no doubt just the tip of the iceberg of actual incidents. Even the minimal evidence we do have suggests that ordinary people, in contrast to the ministers and legislators, did not always harshly judge people accused of same-sex sexuality.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2001, Kathryn Hendley, “Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg: Business Disputes in Russia”, in Peter Murrell, editor, Assessing the Value of Law in Transition Economies, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, →ISBN, page 20:",
          "text": "[O]nly a tiny portion of disagreements—the proverbial tip of the iceberg—ever ends up in court. Most agreements drop out along the way, either because they are settled or because the allegedly wronged party decides that the potential costs of proceeding outweigh the potential benefits",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2004, Vali Hawkins Mitchell, “Rotations: What is Spinning?”, in Philip Jan Rothstein, editor, Emotional Terrors in the Workplace: Protecting Your Business’ Bottom Line: Emotional Continuity Management in the Workplace, Brookfield, Conn.: Rothstein Associates, →ISBN, page 48:",
          "text": "All human beings have secret, hidden, below-the-surface dimensions as well as outer, visible, and clear demonstrations. [...] Although it is not possible to see the hidden it is very possible to see the smallest units, the micro-signs, the tips of the icebergs in people, and then to make some small hunches or theories about risk.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014 September 23, “a teacher”, “Choosing a primary school: A teacher’s guide for parents”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-03-25:",
          "text": "Sats don't reflect the bigger picture; rather the tip of an iceberg in the only subjects that politicians think matter.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 October 10, Caroline Anders, “A TikTok bone salesman’s wall of spines reignites ethical debate over selling human remains”, in The Washington Post:",
          "text": "This collection is not even the tip of the human remains iceberg, according to Damien Huffer, an adjunct research professor at Carleton University in Canada. Collectors across the world have much larger collections than JonsBones, he said, and the trade far predates TikTok.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small indication of a larger possibility; the first part encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems."
      ],
      "id": "en-tip_of_the_iceberg-en-noun-qUXjJCtx",
      "links": [
        [
          "small",
          "small"
        ],
        [
          "indication",
          "indication"
        ],
        [
          "larger",
          "larger"
        ],
        [
          "possibility",
          "possibility"
        ],
        [
          "first",
          "first"
        ],
        [
          "part",
          "part#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "encountered",
          "encounter#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "problem",
          "problem"
        ],
        [
          "big",
          "big"
        ],
        [
          "seem",
          "seem"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) A small indication of a larger possibility; the first part encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "cockroach theory"
        },
        {
          "word": "drop in the ocean"
        },
        {
          "word": "scratch the surface"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "af",
          "lang": "Afrikaans",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "oortjies van die seekoei"
        },
        {
          "code": "af",
          "lang": "Afrikaans",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "punt van die ysberg"
        },
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "vrǎ́h na ájsberga",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "връ́х на а́йсберга"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "punta de l'iceberg"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "bīngshān yījiǎo",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "冰山一角"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "špička ledovce"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "toppen av isbjerget"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "topje van de ijsberg"
        },
        {
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "jäämäe tipp"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "jäävuoren huippu"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "partie émergée de l’iceberg"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "partie visible de l’iceberg"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "sommet de l’iceberg"
        },
        {
          "code": "gl",
          "lang": "Galician",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "punta do iceberg"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Spitze des Eisbergs"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "koryfí tou pagóvounou",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "κορυφή του παγόβουνου"
        },
        {
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "קצה הקרחון"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "a jéghegy csúcsa"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "toppur á ísjakanum"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "punta dell'iceberg"
        },
        {
          "alt": "ひょうざんのいっかく",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "hyōzan-no ikkaku",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "氷山の一角"
        },
        {
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "bingsanui ilgak",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "빙산의 일각"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "toppen av isfjellet"
        },
        {
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "toppen av isfjellet"
        },
        {
          "code": "oc",
          "lang": "Occitan",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "partida emergida de l'iceberg"
        },
        {
          "code": "oc",
          "lang": "Occitan",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "poncha de l'iceberg"
        },
        {
          "code": "oc",
          "lang": "Occitan",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "punta de l'iceberg"
        },
        {
          "code": "oc",
          "lang": "Occitan",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "debuta"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "wierzchołek góry lodowej"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "ponta do icebergue"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "superfície"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "verxúška ájsberga",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "верху́шка а́йсберга"
        },
        {
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "cìrean na tuile"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "вр̏х ле̏дено̄г брије̑га"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "вр̏х ле̏дено̄г бре̑га"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "Roman",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "vȑh lȅdenōg brijȇga"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "Roman",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "vȑh lȅdenōg brȇga"
        },
        {
          "code": "sk",
          "lang": "Slovak",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "špička ľadovca"
        },
        {
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "vrh ledene gore"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "punta del iceberg"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "solo el inicio"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "toppen av ett isberg"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "toppen av isberget"
        },
        {
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "word": "buz dağının görünen kısmı"
        },
        {
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "verxívka ájsberha",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "верхі́вка а́йсберга"
        },
        {
          "code": "cy",
          "lang": "Welsh",
          "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
          "tags": [
            "feminine",
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "crib y rhewfryn"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɪp‿əv ðiː ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɪp‿əv ði ˈaɪsbɝɡ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-tip of the iceberg.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/36/En-au-tip_of_the_iceberg.ogg/En-au-tip_of_the_iceberg.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/En-au-tip_of_the_iceberg.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "tip of the iceberg"
}
{
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "tip of the ice cube"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From the fact that floating icebergs typically have about nine-tenths of their volume below the surface of the water. Early 20th-century uses of the term are believed to have been influenced by the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic on 15 April 1912 after it struck an iceberg.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tips of icebergs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tips of the icebergs",
      "tags": [
        "plural",
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "tips of icebergs",
        "2": "tips of the icebergs",
        "pl2qual": "rare"
      },
      "expansion": "tip of the iceberg (plural tips of icebergs or (rare) tips of the icebergs)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "tip"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "cockroach theory"
    },
    {
      "word": "drop in the ocean"
    },
    {
      "word": "scratch the surface"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Requests for gender in Hebrew entries",
        "Terms with Afrikaans translations",
        "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
        "Terms with Catalan translations",
        "Terms with Czech translations",
        "Terms with Danish translations",
        "Terms with Dutch translations",
        "Terms with Estonian translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with Galician translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Greek translations",
        "Terms with Hebrew translations",
        "Terms with Hungarian translations",
        "Terms with Icelandic translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Korean translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
        "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations",
        "Terms with Occitan translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
        "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
        "Terms with Slovak translations",
        "Terms with Slovene translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations",
        "Terms with Turkish translations",
        "Terms with Ukrainian translations",
        "Terms with Welsh translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "This is only the tip of the iceberg. Our time together can become much more exciting.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1968 July 18, [Harrison Lee] Winter, Circuit Judge, “[Appendix A] United States of America, Appellee, versus Bernard D. Grossman, Apellant”, in Bernard D. Grossman, Petitioner, v. United States of America, Respondent: Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, [Richmond, Va.]: United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, page 8a:",
          "text": "It is sufficient that the former provided the setting for implanting in the minds of the jury the notion that Sinhel had engaged in other related crimes and making that notion explicit with regard to the defendant by the \"tip of the iceberg\" argument. In short, the prosecutor insinuated Sinhel had been given many gifts and gratuities for an illegal purpose, probably from the defendant, beyond those for which the defendant was charged and beyond those for which proof was offered at the trial. The prejudice of a defendant of inviting conviction on facts—if they be such—dehors the record is counter to the basic concept of fairness.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1970, J. K. Brierley, “The Iceberg of Disease”, in Biology and the Social Crisis: A Social Biology for Everyman, 1st American edition, Rutherford, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; Cranbury, N.J.: Associated University Presses, →ISBN, page 117:",
          "text": "The exposed tip of the iceberg, the recognized illness that brings a man to his doctor, is relatively small compared with the hidden mass of undetected disease, or 'at risk' people, in the population.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1977 September, “The Tip of the Iceberg”, in John H[arold] Johnson, editor, Ebony, volume XXXII, number 11, Chicago, Ill.: Johnson Publishing Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 132, column 2:",
          "text": "The blacking out of the lights of the nation's biggest city could be a blessing in disguise. It brought to light, dramatically, the deep unrest in a large part of the Black and Latin population and it emphasized the fact that something must be done and soon to quiet that unrest. And it may be that the current unrest is just the tip of the iceberg.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1996, Peter Medawar, “Scientific Fraud”, in The Strange Case of the Spotted Mice: And Other Classic Essays on Science, Oxford, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 196:",
          "text": "The number of dishonest scientists cannot, of course, be known, but even if they were common enough to justify scary talk of ‘tips of icebergs’ they have not been so numerous as to prevent science’s having become the most successful enterprise (in terms of the fulfilment of declared ambitions) that human beings have ever engaged upon.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1999, Leila J. Rupp, “In the Beginning: Same-sex Sexuality in Early America”, in A Desired Past: A Short History of Same-sex Love in America, Chicago, Ill., London: University of Chicago Press, →ISBN, page 30:",
          "text": "Records document nineteen legal cases involving the charge of sodomy and five executions from 1607 to 1740, although this is no doubt just the tip of the iceberg of actual incidents. Even the minimal evidence we do have suggests that ordinary people, in contrast to the ministers and legislators, did not always harshly judge people accused of same-sex sexuality.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2001, Kathryn Hendley, “Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg: Business Disputes in Russia”, in Peter Murrell, editor, Assessing the Value of Law in Transition Economies, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, →ISBN, page 20:",
          "text": "[O]nly a tiny portion of disagreements—the proverbial tip of the iceberg—ever ends up in court. Most agreements drop out along the way, either because they are settled or because the allegedly wronged party decides that the potential costs of proceeding outweigh the potential benefits",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2004, Vali Hawkins Mitchell, “Rotations: What is Spinning?”, in Philip Jan Rothstein, editor, Emotional Terrors in the Workplace: Protecting Your Business’ Bottom Line: Emotional Continuity Management in the Workplace, Brookfield, Conn.: Rothstein Associates, →ISBN, page 48:",
          "text": "All human beings have secret, hidden, below-the-surface dimensions as well as outer, visible, and clear demonstrations. [...] Although it is not possible to see the hidden it is very possible to see the smallest units, the micro-signs, the tips of the icebergs in people, and then to make some small hunches or theories about risk.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2014 September 23, “a teacher”, “Choosing a primary school: A teacher’s guide for parents”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-03-25:",
          "text": "Sats don't reflect the bigger picture; rather the tip of an iceberg in the only subjects that politicians think matter.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 October 10, Caroline Anders, “A TikTok bone salesman’s wall of spines reignites ethical debate over selling human remains”, in The Washington Post:",
          "text": "This collection is not even the tip of the human remains iceberg, according to Damien Huffer, an adjunct research professor at Carleton University in Canada. Collectors across the world have much larger collections than JonsBones, he said, and the trade far predates TikTok.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A small indication of a larger possibility; the first part encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "small",
          "small"
        ],
        [
          "indication",
          "indication"
        ],
        [
          "larger",
          "larger"
        ],
        [
          "possibility",
          "possibility"
        ],
        [
          "first",
          "first"
        ],
        [
          "part",
          "part#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "encountered",
          "encounter#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "problem",
          "problem"
        ],
        [
          "big",
          "big"
        ],
        [
          "seem",
          "seem"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) A small indication of a larger possibility; the first part encountered of a problem that is much bigger than it seems."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɪp‿əv ðiː ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈtɪp‿əv ði ˈaɪsbɝɡ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-tip of the iceberg.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/36/En-au-tip_of_the_iceberg.ogg/En-au-tip_of_the_iceberg.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/En-au-tip_of_the_iceberg.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "af",
      "lang": "Afrikaans",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "oortjies van die seekoei"
    },
    {
      "code": "af",
      "lang": "Afrikaans",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "punt van die ysberg"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "vrǎ́h na ájsberga",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "връ́х на а́йсберга"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "punta de l'iceberg"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "bīngshān yījiǎo",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "冰山一角"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "špička ledovce"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "toppen av isbjerget"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "topje van de ijsberg"
    },
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "jäämäe tipp"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "jäävuoren huippu"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "partie émergée de l’iceberg"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "partie visible de l’iceberg"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "sommet de l’iceberg"
    },
    {
      "code": "gl",
      "lang": "Galician",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "punta do iceberg"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Spitze des Eisbergs"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "koryfí tou pagóvounou",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "κορυφή του παγόβουνου"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "קצה הקרחון"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "a jéghegy csúcsa"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "toppur á ísjakanum"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "punta dell'iceberg"
    },
    {
      "alt": "ひょうざんのいっかく",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "hyōzan-no ikkaku",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "氷山の一角"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "bingsanui ilgak",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "빙산의 일각"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "toppen av isfjellet"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "toppen av isfjellet"
    },
    {
      "code": "oc",
      "lang": "Occitan",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "partida emergida de l'iceberg"
    },
    {
      "code": "oc",
      "lang": "Occitan",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "poncha de l'iceberg"
    },
    {
      "code": "oc",
      "lang": "Occitan",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "punta de l'iceberg"
    },
    {
      "code": "oc",
      "lang": "Occitan",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "debuta"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "wierzchołek góry lodowej"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "ponta do icebergue"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "superfície"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "verxúška ájsberga",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "верху́шка а́йсберга"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "cìrean na tuile"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "вр̏х ле̏дено̄г брије̑га"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "вр̏х ле̏дено̄г бре̑га"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "Roman",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "vȑh lȅdenōg brijȇga"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "Roman",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "vȑh lȅdenōg brȇga"
    },
    {
      "code": "sk",
      "lang": "Slovak",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "špička ľadovca"
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "vrh ledene gore"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "punta del iceberg"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "solo el inicio"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "toppen av ett isberg"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "toppen av isberget"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "word": "buz dağının görünen kısmı"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "verxívka ájsberha",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "верхі́вка а́йсберга"
    },
    {
      "code": "cy",
      "lang": "Welsh",
      "sense": "small indication of a larger possibility",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "crib y rhewfryn"
    }
  ],
  "word": "tip of the iceberg"
}

Download raw JSONL data for tip of the iceberg meaning in English (15.5kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.