knee-deep

[ nee-deep ]

/ ˈniˈdip /

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adjective

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.

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Origin of knee-deep

First recorded in 1525–35

Words nearby knee-deep

knee bend, kneeboard, knee brace, knee breeches, kneecap, knee-deep, knee drop, knee-high, knee-high to a grasshopper, kneehole, knee jerk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use knee-deep in a sentence

Deep, situational, and emotional jokes based on what is relevant and has a POINT!
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The lascivious sex predator is out; the deep-pocketed caped crusader is most definitely in.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking|M.L. Nestel|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Fumbleroooohski…'” (39) “'Look at me, ungh, splitting my own seam, oohh… going deep.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There was deep brown flesh, and bronze flesh, and pallid white flesh, and flesh turned red from the hot sun.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

As he drove me back to the logging road, Frank told me about the area in his deep voice.
The 7-Year-Old Plane Crash Survivor’s Brutal Journey Through the Woods|James Higdon|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He remembered something—the cherished pose of being a man plunged fathoms-deep in business.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
At present, Louis was too self-absorbed by the struggles within him, to look deep into what was passing around him.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
It succeeds best in a deep rich loam in a climate ranging from forty to fifty degrees of latitude.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
And then what could be more deep and poetic than Liszt's transcriptions of Schubert's and Wagner's songs?
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
The next moment a pistol was fired at their head, and a deep groan shewed it had taken too true an aim.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter

British Dictionary definitions for knee-deep

knee-deep

adjective

so deep as to reach or cover the kneesknee-deep mud

(postpositive often foll by in)

sunk or covered to the kneesknee-deep in sand
immersed; deeply involvedknee-deep in work

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012