knee-high
/'ni:'hai/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Extending as high as the knee: Describing something, especially a garment like a sock or boot, that reaches up to the level of a person's knee.
- Very short or small: Used informally, often in similes, to describe someone or something as being very short in stature or young.
Noun:
- A garment reaching the knee: A type of sock or stocking that is designed to extend to just below the knee.
Usage and Examples
Adjective:
- She wore knee-high leather boots in the winter. (The boots reached up to her knees.)
- The grass was already knee-high by midsummer. (The grass had grown as tall as a person's knee.)
- I've known him since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. (I've known him since he was very young and small.)
Noun:
- She pulled on a pair of woolen knee-highs. (She put on socks that came up to her knees.)
- Fashion often cycles between ankle socks and knee-highs. (Knee-high socks are a recurring fashion trend.)
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- The phrase "knee-high to a grasshopper" (or "...to a mosquito/duck") is a fixed, humorous idiom used to emphasize that someone was very young or small at a past time.
- My grandfather taught me to fish when I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
- As an adjective, it can describe non-garment items (e.g., plants, water) to indicate their height or depth relative to the knee.
Variants and Related Words
- Knee-highs (n., plural): The common plural form when referring to the socks or stockings.
- Knee-deep (adj.): Similar in structure but refers to depth (how deep something is) rather than height (how tall something is).
- We waded through knee-deep mud. (The mud reached up to our knees.)
Synonyms
- Adjective (for garments): Over-the-calf, thigh-high (taller).
- Adjective (for height): Waist-high (taller), ankle-high (shorter).
- Idiom (for being young/small): Knee-high to a mosquito, just a tot, a wee lad/lass.
Idioms and Fixed Phrases
- Knee-high to a grasshopper/mosquito/duck: An idiom meaning very young or very small.
- That old tree has been there since I was knee-high to a duck.
Noun
- a sock or stocking that reaches up to just below the knees
Adverb
- up to the knees
- we were standing knee-deep in the water