# What is Iceberg order?

> Also called: Hidden order, Reserve order, Refreshing order

**In short.** An iceberg order is a large limit order shown to the market in small slices: the DOM displays 20 contracts, they fill, 20 more appear at the same price, and so on until the hidden total is done. On the footprint it shows as a price where far more contracts trade than the book ever displayed; on a heatmap as a level that keeps refilling.

Icebergs matter because they are the mechanics of absorption: a passive participant who wants to buy 2,000 contracts without showing it. Detectors ([DeepCharts](https://my.deepcharts.com/redirect/deepchart?affId=OFF&utm_source=fillprint&utm_medium=affiliate) has one) compare the traded volume at a price with the displayed size and flag the excess.

A refilling bid that holds is support until it stops refilling; when the iceberg is done, price often moves fast through the level. Trade with the iceberg while it holds, with a stop a few ticks behind it, and get out when the refills stop.

- Guides on this term: [Absorption vs exhaustion in order flow, explained](https://fillprint.io/en/journal/absorption-vs-exhaustion)
- Guides on this term: [How to read a liquidity heatmap, wall by wall](https://fillprint.io/en/journal/reading-the-liquidity-heatmap)
- Read next: [Absorption](https://fillprint.io/en/glossary/absorption)
- Read next: [DOM](https://fillprint.io/en/glossary/dom)
- Read next: [Liquidity heatmap](https://fillprint.io/en/glossary/liquidity-heatmap)

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