Idiom: (just) the tip of the iceberg

 

Meaning and Use

  • The idiom ‘tip of the iceberg’ basically means the small part of a much larger situation or problem that remains hidden. When only a part of something that can be easily observed, but not the rest of it, we say that the part is just the tip of the iceberg. 
  • This idiom comes from the fact that only the tip of an iceberg can be seen and the rest of the iceberg, which is much larger, is underneath the water and cannot be seen. So when you use it for a situation, you mean that there is more to it than what can be seen or experienced.

Note: 

There are times you can notice or see a very small part of a situation, a concept, or a problem, it is not entirely visible. But, that small portion enables you to imagine or anticipate how big or serious the issue could be. You can use the idiom "It's just the tip of the iceberg." to describe this situation.

Example Sentences

  • The news is shocking, but we may find out that the stories we've heard so far are just the tip of the iceberg.
  • Her success is just the tip of the iceberg, she had to fight very hard to get to the position where she’s at, and we just didn’t see that.
  • After the party, the messy kitchen was just the tip of the iceberg; the rest of the house was in a bigger mess.
  • What my friend is going through is just the tip of the iceberg, he has bigger issues to deal with.
  • As with many injuries, the damage we can see is only the tip of the iceberg.
  • We get about 2,000 complaints every year but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Many more people just suffer in silence.
  • Analysts say that the 5% job loss report is just the tip of the iceberg and more people will be downsized due to the economic aftershock of the coronavirus.
  • “Japan has been screwing up,” said Kenji Shibuya, director of the Institute for Population Health at King’s College London. The confirmed cases, he said, are “just the tip of the iceberg,” adding that a surge of patients could cause Tokyo’s health care system to collapse.
  • Although antibiotics resistance, related to frequent unprescribed use, is a serious national issue in healthcare, that is only the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot of health education left to do.
  • More than 100,000 tourists are set to arrive in our country this summer, and that is the tip of the iceberg. We are expecting a million by the end of the year.
  • These corruption scandals are the tip of the iceberg. More investigations are going on. A lot of people are going down. It was about time someone does something about it.
  • All you know about the singer's personal life is the tip of the iceberg. His life is far more complex than we can think.

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