A Drop in the Ocean

🗓️ Idiom: A Drop in the Ocean

💬 Meaning

• A very small amount compared to what is needed or expected.
• Something that seems helpful but is not enough to make a big difference on its own.

🧠 Example Sentences

• Donating $100 may feel like a drop in the ocean, but every bit helps.
• Planting a few trees is a drop in the ocean compared to the scale of climate change.
• The company’s small donation was just a drop in the ocean, but it was a good start.

🏛️ Origin

This idiom dates back to the 1300s and originally appeared in religious texts. It compares a small action or amount (a drop) to something massive (an ocean), showing how little impact it seems to have by itself.

📝 Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank:
Our efforts to reduce plastic use felt like ________, but we kept going.

2. Multiple choice:
What does “a drop in the ocean” mean?
a) A helpful amount
b) A very large amount
c) A very small and possibly ineffective amount

3. Rewrite the sentence:
“Our donation seemed tiny compared to the total need.”

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