Meanings
- literallyIn water so deep that one cannot stand and may be at risk of drowning.
- figurativelyidiomaticIn a situation which one is poorly prepared or unprepared to handle.
The team's first game was against the league champions; they were out of their depth and knew it.
3 more examples
She doesn’t know Joker, she’s out of her depth. I need to save her.
2011 October 18, Batman: Arkham City, spoken by Batman (Kevin Conroy), Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, via Rocksteady StudiosWeak management and a small team of civil servants who were out of their depth have been roundly blamed for the £4 billion overspend on London's Elizabeth line (Crossrail) and its opening four years late in May 2022.
2024 April 3, Howard Johnston, “Network News: Weak bosses and staff blamed for Crossrail overspend”, in RAIL, number 1006, page 20Hatmaker described a similar reckoning: sitting in her attorney’s office, out of her depth, asking him to explain her finances “like a child.”
2026 April 22, Jillian Sanders, “The Danger of Surrendering Your Financial Independence in a Relationship”, in TIME, archived from the original on 22 Apr 2026Synonyms: in over one's head, out of one's league
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveIn a situation which one is poorly prepared or unprepared to handle.
Translations
Catalan no tocar de peus
- no tocar de peusin water so deep that one cannot stand and may be at risk of drowning
Finnish liian syvissä vesissä
- liian syvissä vesissäin water so deep that one cannot stand and may be at risk of drowning
French n'avoir pas pied
- n'avoir pas piedin water so deep that one cannot stand and may be at risk of drowning
Hungarian kicsúszik a lába alól a talaj, elveszti a talajt a lába alól
- kicsúszik a lába alól a talajin a situation which one is poorly prepared or unprepared to handle
- elveszti a talajt a lába alólin a situation which one is poorly prepared or unprepared to handle
- nem tud megbirkózni velein a situation which one is poorly prepared or unprepared to handle
- meghaladja a képességeitin a situation which one is poorly prepared or unprepared to handle
Spanish meterse en honduras
- meterse en hondurasin a situation which one is poorly prepared or unprepared to handle
Swedish ute på djupt vatten
- ute på djupt vattenin a situation which one is poorly prepared or unprepared to handle
Cite this entry
out of one's depth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/out%20of%20one's%20depth
“out of one's depth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/out%20of%20one's%20depth. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “out of one's depth,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/out%20of%20one's%20depth.
Source: out of one's depth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.