What It Means
An Iceberg Order splits a large order into many small legs and reveals only one small slice to the market at a time — the "tip of the iceberg" — so the true full size doesn't move the price or tip off other traders.
How It Works
Each leg is a separate order; the moment one fills, the next leg is automatically released, continuing until the full quantity is done. Originally an institutional and HNI tool, it's now offered to retail traders by some Indian brokers, across NSE equity, F&O, currency, BCD, and BSE equity.
Warning
Some brokers charge brokerage separately on each executed leg — a big order split into many small legs can quietly rack up more in charges than a single fill would have.
Common Variants
Disclosed Quantity Order is the older, exchange-native version of the same idea, limited to a minimum 10% visible slice in equity/currency/commodity segments and unavailable in F&O; Iceberg Order is the newer broker-level feature that extends the same "hide the true size" concept to more segments.