Meanings
- not comparableReaching up to the knees.
High above stood the ash-tree, its boughs covered with the toy-like bunches called "locks and keys;" and beyond spread the meadows, knee-deep with the verdant grass.
1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 277 - not comparableSubmerged to the knees.
This gave me a hint, and I went knee-deep, and sometimes neck-deep, in the Red Weed. The density of the weed gave me a reassuring sense of hiding.
1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 241 - broadlyfigurativelynot comparableDeeply involved (in something) or preoccupied (with something).
When you're knee-deep in these insecure feelings, it can be hard to see clearly.
2021, Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan, “What is... jealousy?”, in Let's Talk About It, →ISBN, page 1911 more example
By the time Tracey arrived, Kayla was working on her second cup of café mocha and knee-deep in paperwork.
2007, Katherine D. Jones, Dangerous Dilemmas, Brooklyn, N.Y.: Noire Passion, Parker Publishing, LLC, →ISBN, page 113Synonyms: elbow-deep, up to one's elbows, waist-deep, neck-deep, up to one's neck, in the thick of it, bogged down
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveDeeply involved (in something) or preoccupied (with something).
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivecoming only to the ankle or knee
adverbup to the knees
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishkne-depe
- Englishknee-deep
From Middle English kne-depe; equivalent to knee + deep.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
German knietief
- knietiefreaching up to the knees
Icelandic hnédjúpur
- hnédjúpurreaching up to the knees
Italian fino al collo
- fino al collodeeply involved
Russian по коле́но
- по коле́но (po koléno)reaching up to the knees
Cite this entry
knee-deep. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knee-deep
“knee-deep.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knee-deep. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “knee-deep,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knee-deep.
Source: knee-deep on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.