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
Gaza may be on everybody’s mind, but the elephant in the room is what to do about Syria.
—
Daniel Depetris, Twin Cities, 28 July 2025
The proverbial elephant in the room is the restricted free agency of shooting guard Quentin Grimes, which at this point has yielded almost no movement.
—Tony Jones, New York Times, 8 July 2025
Authored by Senator Charles Schwertner and championed by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, SB 6 targets one of the elephants in the room: massive electricity consumers, defined as those with loads of 75 megawatts or more.
—David Blackmon, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025
As for the elephant in the room, Del Mar officials have drawn up plans in case U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stages an immigration raid during the summer season.
—Bill Center, Mercury News, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for elephant in the room
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Daniel Depetris, Twin Cities, 28 July 2025
The proverbial elephant in the room is the restricted free agency of shooting guard Quentin Grimes, which at this point has yielded almost no movement.
—Tony Jones, New York Times, 8 July 2025
Authored by Senator Charles Schwertner and championed by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, SB 6 targets one of the elephants in the room: massive electricity consumers, defined as those with loads of 75 megawatts or more.
—David Blackmon, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025
As for the elephant in the room, Del Mar officials have drawn up plans in case U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stages an immigration raid during the summer season.
—Bill Center, Mercury News, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for elephant in the room
Cite this Entry
“Elephant in the room.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elephant%20in%20the%20room. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
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