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ankle-deep

ankle-deep

3 3.0
At a depth up to the ankles in water, mud, or snow
  • adjective
  • /ˈæŋkəl dip/
translation icon : hasta los tobillos
  • The children splashed happily in the ankle-deep water at the edge of the lake.

Examples

  • The grass was ankle-deep and darkly green, and the mist hung in silver scraps like fishnets caught in driftwood.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Standing ankle-deep in muck, Coe switched a chain from the tow truck to the bulldozer's hitch.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Once outside, he found himself more than ankle deep in snow.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The water is about ankle-deep.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The floor is a carpet of ankle-deep green grass.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • The fields are flooded ankle-deep at this time of year, and they smell of manure and young green things.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • With the surefootedness of a goat, he bounded through the ankle-deep water.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • As they continue walking, Phil steps into what looks like a shallow puddle and ends up ankle-deep in wet slush.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Rainwater sloshed down the grates in an increasingly heavy flow, and soon they were ankle-deep.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • At 3:02 a.m., the Des Moines water production manager stood ankle-deep in the flooded plant control room, surrounded by 4,160 volts of electricity.

    Academic text (1993)

How Deep

waist-deep
5 2.9
knee-deep
5 3.1
ankle-deep
3 3.0
shallow
155 1.6

Surface Forms

ankle-deep positive

Morphology

ankle-deep = ankle + deep (transparent) = ankle + deep

The compound is directly interpretable as 'deep to the ankles' from 'ankle' + 'deep' using a common hyphenated measure construction.

Etymology

Ankle-deep is a simple compound of ankle and deep, literally meaning 'as deep as the ankle'. So it describes water, mud, or snow that reaches up to your ankle.