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the tip of the iceberg

phrase/ðə tɪp əv ði ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/

B1CEFR level
20/100Rarity: fairly common
NeutralRegister

A small, visible part of a much larger problem that remains hidden.

The reported complaints are merely the tip of the iceberg, as most customers never bother to write in.

Topic: Idioms & phrasal verbs in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: Idioms & phrasal verbs