knee-deep
Americanadjective
-
reaching the knees.
knee-deep mud.
-
submerged or covered up to the knees.
knee-deep in water.
-
deeply embroiled; enmeshed; involved.
knee-deep in trouble.
adjective
-
so deep as to reach or cover the knees
knee-deep mud
-
-
sunk or covered to the knees
knee-deep in sand
-
immersed; deeply involved
knee-deep in work
-
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.
Workers on Wednesday were spotted in fishing waders standing knee-deep in the water vacuuming the bottom surface.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026
Anyone using them for mission-critical tasks today will eventually find themselves knee-deep in a catastrophe.
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
By June, peach season is well underway and I’m knee-deep in turning out goodies that pay homage to my favorite sunset-hued, fuzzy stone fruit.
From Salon • Jul. 9, 2025
It is to be hoped he did not follow his own advice otherwise he would have missed a thriller that left the stadium knee-deep in chewed fingernails by the final whistle.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2025
Breathing hard, sweating with the effort of hiking through knee-deep snow, they pulled themselves up and peered over.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
