knee-deep

See also: kneedeep

English

From Middle English kne-depe; equivalent to knee +‎ deep.

knee-deep (not comparable)

Reaching up to the knees.
Coordinate terms: elbow-deep; waist-deep; neck-deep
- 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 277:
  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.
Submerged to the knees.
Coordinate terms: elbow-deep; waist-deep; neck-deep
- 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 241:
  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.
(figuratively, by extension) Deeply involved in something, or preoccupied with something.
Synonyms: elbow-deep, up to one's elbows; waist-deep; neck-deep, up to one's neck; in the thick of it; bogged down
- 2007, Katherine D. Jones, Dangerous Dilemmas, Brooklyn, N.Y.: Noire Passion, Parker Publishing, LLC, →ISBN, page 113:
  By the time Tracey arrived, Kayla was working on her second cup of café mocha and knee-deep in paperwork.
- 2021, Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan, “What is... jealousy?”, in Let's Talk About It, →ISBN, page 191:
  When you're knee-deep in these insecure feelings, it can be hard to see clearly.

reaching up to the knees

deeply involved