knee-deep
Immersed to mid-thigh
Knee-deep describes a depth reaching to the knees: We waded through knee-deep water.
Figuratively, it means deeply involved or overwhelmed: knee-deep in paperwork, knee-deep in debt.
The literal measurement extends to things other than liquid: knee-deep in snow, knee-deep in fallen leaves.
Stuck in difficulty
- stuckUnable to move
- embroiledInvolved in conflict
- entangledTwisted together inseparably
- quagmireSoft, wet ground
mess · predicament · hot water · over one's head · enmeshed · caught up · tangled
Took in fully
- engrossedWholly absorbed in something
- steepedSaturated by soaking
- entrenchedFirmly established, resistant to change
- miredStuck in difficulty
plunged · submerged · saturated · enmeshed · buried · wrapped up · caught up
Traversing shallow water on foot
- shallowWithout much depth
- submergedBelow water's surface
- waterloggedSaturated with liquid
- muddyObscured by silt
flooded · standing water · puddle · marsh · swamp · bog · creek · river
Overwhelmed beyond capacity
- inundatedOverwhelmed by quantity
- floodedCovered with water
- overloadedBurdened past capacity
- buriedPlaced beneath earth
drowning · besieged · bombarded · deluged · up to here · over one's head
mired
Stuck in difficulty
quagmire · mess · predicament · hot water · over one's head · enmeshed · caught up · tangled
absorbed
Took in fully
- engrossedWholly absorbed in something
- steepedSaturated by soaking
- entrenchedFirmly established, resistant to change
mired · plunged · submerged · saturated · enmeshed · buried · wrapped up · caught up
wading
Traversing shallow water on foot
- shallowWithout much depth
- submergedBelow water's surface
- waterloggedSaturated with liquid
muddy · flooded · standing water · puddle · marsh · swamp · bog · creek · river · snowdrift
swamped
Overwhelmed beyond capacity
- inundatedOverwhelmed by quantity
- floodedCovered with water
- overloadedBurdened past capacity
buried · drowning · besieged · bombarded · deluged · up to here · over one's head
- Hyperbolea zillion, bazillion, gazillion, bajillion, zillion
- hyphenated wordsup-to-date, pitch-black, jaw-dropping, round-the-clock, air-conditioned
- Kneepatella, meniscus, ACL, LCL, patellar tendon
- depthsabyss, bottom, chasm, fathomless, fathom
- participationjoin in, take part, membership, attendance, voting
- stuckjammed, clogged, trapped, stuck in mud, snowed in
knee-deepover one's head
Beyond one's understanding
submerged · underwater · fully immersed · neck-deep · in over one's head
knee-deepuninvolved
Not taking part
in over one's head · over one's head · detached · disengaged · on the sidelines
deep, depth, knee, kneel, knees, deepen, deepest, deeper, kneecap