ankle-deep

[ang-kuhl-deep]

adjective

1. high enough to reach or cover the ankles.

   ankle-deep mud.

2. deeply involved or entangled.

   He is ankle-deep in financial troubles.

adverb

1. as high as the ankles.

   Rainwater ran ankle-deep.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ankle-deep¹

First recorded in 1755–65

Example Sentences

The company was fined more than $112,000 by Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration in late 2023 after workers complained of “ankle-deep” water in the tunnels, muck spills and burns.

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Flooding was also reported on the Isles of Scilly, with St Mary's resident Samaya Reid saying her family had come home from a night out to find "ankle-deep water" on their road.

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That feeling is shared by fishermen ankle-deep in creek bed on the outskirts of town, drawn to the area by the allure of some of the world's finest salmon.

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The sound of rushing water echoed from the walls as an ankle-deep stream flowed from the portal and cascaded into a churning pool beneath metal gates.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In April 1917, an offensive by British and Canadian troops at the city of Arras in northern France bogged down in sleet, snow, and ankle-deep mud.

Read more on Literature