elephant in the room

noun phrase

: an obvious major problem or issue that people avoid discussing or acknowledging

Examples of elephant in the room in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The elephant in the room for both him and Nyong’o is obviously that neither of them is Greek, which critics have pointed out is not historically accurate. — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 18 July 2026

The Grok elephant in the room Although Apple has removed some apps flagged by researchers, the iPhone maker otherwise has remained notably silent amid calls to police nudification apps more aggressively in its App Store. — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 17 July 2026

With the draft beginning on Saturday, VP of scouting Dan Kantrovitz addressed the elephant in the room. — Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 6 July 2026

Even when Drew tries to messily prod at the massive elephant in the room at dinner, the conversation still reverts to Angela’s issues with Shamea. — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 29 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1985, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for elephant in the room

• anteroom
• assume
• backroom
• ballroom
• barroom
• bathroom
• bedroom
• boardroom
• bridegroom
• classroom
• cloakroom
• consume