knee-deep
Americanadjective
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reaching the knees.
knee-deep mud.
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submerged or covered up to the knees.
knee-deep in water.
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deeply embroiled; enmeshed; involved.
knee-deep in trouble.
adjective
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so deep as to reach or cover the knees
knee-deep mud
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sunk or covered to the knees
knee-deep in sand
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immersed; deeply involved
knee-deep in work
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Etymology
Origin of knee-deep
First recorded in 1525–35
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Newsom made the comment in an interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper, during which the two men are standing knee-deep in a body of water while fishing.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
So I had all these giddy, kind of rose-tinted romantic notions of what I was doing until I was knee-deep in fiberglass, going, “Why did I think this was a good idea?”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
It’s worth trying, if only to remind yourself, when you’re knee-deep in a pristine, quiet bay, what makes the island special in the first place.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
Rescuers and relatives searched knee-deep in water for the body of one-year-old Zara.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2025
The flood rises high enough to cover low river islands in knee-deep water, leaving their trees to stand out like miracles in mid-channel.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
