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

There’s at least one animal in Ben Affleck’s sixth featue as director, and that’s the elephant in the room — or lumbering around the Los Angeles locations — of this passably entertaining Netflix crime thriller. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026

The elephant in the room is that Dobbins on first down, with or without lovable swing tackle Alex Palczewski in as the extra blocker, is the handoff everyone’s looking for. — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 5 Oct. 2026

In turn, Owens has become the elephant in the room at Turning Point, driving a wedge between the current leadership and some donors, who are among Owens’s listeners. — Clara Molot, Vanity Fair, 29 Sep. 2026

Hopefully by the time Halloween weekend rolls around, Sheeran won’t have to address the elephant in the room anymore. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1985, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for elephant in the room

• anteroom
• assume
• backroom
• ballroom
• barroom
• bathroom
• bedroom
• boardroom
• bridegroom
• classroom
• cloakroom
• consume