ankle-deep
Definition
- Adjective:
- Coming only to the ankle or knee: Describes a depth of water, mud, snow, or another substance that reaches approximately the level of a person's ankles or, in some uses, knees.
Usage
- The word ankle-deep is used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb like 'was' or 'were') to describe the shallow depth of a substance one is standing or wading in.
- It often implies immersion or involvement, but only to a minor or initial degree.
Examples
- Adjective (Attributive):
- We waded through the ankle-deep water to cross the stream.
- The hikers trudged through ankle-deep mud after the rainstorm.
- Adjective (Predicative):
- The floodwater was only ankle-deep in the street.
- By the time we reached the field, the snow was already ankle-deep.
Advanced Usage
- Figurative Use: Can describe being involved in a situation, activity, or emotion to a minor or initial extent.
- He was already ankle-deep in the project's planning phase.
- She found herself ankle-deep in trouble after missing the deadline.
Variants and Related Words
- Knee-deep (adj): Reaching to the knees; often used similarly but implies a greater depth or degree of involvement.
- They were knee-deep in paperwork.
- Shin-deep (adj): Reaching to the shins; a less common variant describing a depth between ankle and knee.
Synonyms
- Shallow: Of little depth (more general).
- Wadeable: Shallow enough to walk through.
Related Phrases
- Ankle-deep in: Involved in something to a minor or beginning degree.
- He's ankle-deep in his new research.
Adjective
-
coming only to the ankle or knee
