in over head
Beyond one's depth
To be in over one's head is to be involved in something beyond one's ability to handle—like a swimmer in water too deep to stand.
The phrase suggests being overwhelmed by circumstances: She took the job but quickly realized she was in over her head.
Often appears with possessive pronouns: in over my head, in over their heads.
- overwhelmedDefeated by sheer volume
- drowningDeath by water inhalation
- deep endPool's lowest-floor area
- swampedOverwhelmed beyond capacity
- strugglingExperiencing serious difficulty
sinking · going under · depth · trouble · submerged · underwater · too deep · floundering · can't swim · gasping · thrown in · panic · debt · crisis · helpless · buried · suffocating · treading
- overwhelmedstressed, overwhelmed, stressed out, burnt out, burned out
- burnoutburned out, burnt out, burn out, burning out, burnout
- Incompetencebungle, failure, botch, inability, blunder
in over headwell-equipped
Having adequate supplies
up to the task · well-qualified · overqualified · in one's element · child's play
in over headin control
Managing with authority
in the driver's seat · calling the shots · running the show · under control · on solid ground
in over headat ease
Relaxed, not tense
comfortable · on solid ground · unfazed · untroubled · in one's element
over, head, overs, heads, headed, heading, headless, overhead, overly