tip of the iceberg
noun phrase
: the earliest, most obvious, or most superficial manifestation of some phenomenon
Examples of tip of the iceberg in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In 2025, however, with endless technology and commonplace plastic surgery, Botox and dermal fillers are just a tip of the iceberg.
—
Dahvi Shira, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
That might just be tip of the iceberg: Forecasters at Oxford Economists project 33,700 federal job losses in the DC metro in 2025.
—Bryan Mena, CNN, 16 Mar. 2025
That's just the small tip of the iceberg of her radical views.
—CBS News, 4 Aug. 2024
Now, nearly half a millennium after Galileo marveled at the myriad pinpricks of light—moons, planets, and stars—in Earth’s skies, his successors are getting acquainted with the brightest tip of the iceberg of darker objects adrift between them.
—Charlie Wood, WIRED, 31 Dec. 2023
Right, and again, to use an analogy, tip of the iceberg, this is just the one example of a number of analogous developments happening globally, the U.S. level.
—Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Now, nearly half a millennium after Galileo marveled at the myriad pinpricks of light — moons, planets and stars — in Earth’s skies, his successors are getting acquainted with the brightest tip of the iceberg of darker objects adrift between them.
—Quanta Magazine, 13 Nov. 2023
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Dahvi Shira, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
That might just be tip of the iceberg: Forecasters at Oxford Economists project 33,700 federal job losses in the DC metro in 2025.
—Bryan Mena, CNN, 16 Mar. 2025
That's just the small tip of the iceberg of her radical views.
—CBS News, 4 Aug. 2024
Now, nearly half a millennium after Galileo marveled at the myriad pinpricks of light—moons, planets, and stars—in Earth’s skies, his successors are getting acquainted with the brightest tip of the iceberg of darker objects adrift between them.
—Charlie Wood, WIRED, 31 Dec. 2023
Right, and again, to use an analogy, tip of the iceberg, this is just the one example of a number of analogous developments happening globally, the U.S. level.
—Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Now, nearly half a millennium after Galileo marveled at the myriad pinpricks of light — moons, planets and stars — in Earth’s skies, his successors are getting acquainted with the brightest tip of the iceberg of darker objects adrift between them.
—Quanta Magazine, 13 Nov. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Tip of the iceberg.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tip%20of%20the%20iceberg. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share