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

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As for work and meaning, Amodei does acknowledge what seems to be on everyone’s mind, the elephant in the room: with AI so capable, what will humans do? —

John Werner, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2024 And, yes, there’s an AI-sized elephant in the room right now, and no shortage of talk about how AI is ushering in a new era for robotics. —

Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2024 But the elephant in the room is Russia’s war in Ukraine, which the Kazan Declaration stresses must be resolved by diplomatic means in accordance with the principles of the U.N. Charter and hints at possibilities for mediation. —

Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Oct. 2024 There is an elephant in the room of the 2024 edition of the Fortune 500 Europe. —

Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 23 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for elephant in the room

Word History

First Known Use

1985, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of elephant in the room was in 1985

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Elephant in the room.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elephant%20in%20the%20room. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.

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