deep

The lake is extremely deep.

We hiked into a deep valley between tall mountains.

There was a deep layer of dust on the floor; the room had not been disturbed for many years.

In the mid-1970s, the economy went into a deep recession.

We are in deep trouble.

Smooth runnes the Water, where the Brooke is deepe,

1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 130, column 2:

Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

While Britain’s recession has been deep and unforgiving, in London it has been relatively shallow.

2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-09-28:

The differences in biofilm penetration patterns of both tested photosensitisers and the light source could have played an important role for the survival of microorganisms after the application of aPDT. In a recent own study, we showed that the deepest layers of the oral biofilm were not affected by the aPDT [4 ].

2015 November 7, “Antimicrobial Photoinactivation Using Visible Light Plus Water-Filtered Infrared-A (VIS + wIRA) Alters In Situ Oral Biofilms”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:

(of distance or position; also figurative) Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

Extending far down from the top, or surface, to the bottom, literally or figuratively.

Diving down to deep wrecks can be dangerous.

I can't get the bullet out – it's too deep.

Positioned far from the surface or other reference point, especially down through something or into something.

The shelves are 30 centimetres deep. — They are deep shelves.

That cyclist's deep chest allows him to draw more air.

Far in extent in another (non-downwards, but generally also non-upwards) direction, especially front-to-back.

The water was waist-deep.

There is an arm-deep hole in the wall.

(in combination) Extending to a level or length equivalent to the stated thing.

a crowd three deep along the funeral procession

In a (specified) number of rows or layers.

In a (specified) number of rows or layers.

to take a deep breath / sigh / drink

Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.[…]She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.

1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

He is fielding at deep mid wicket.

She hit a ball into deep center field.

(cricket, baseball, softball) Far from the center of the playing area, near to the boundary of the playing area, either in absolute terms or relative to a point of reference.

a deep volley

a deep run into the opposition half

(sports such as soccer, tennis) Penetrating a long way, especially a long way forward.

Our defensive live is too deep. We need to move further up the field.

She returns serve from a very deep position.

(sports such as soccer, American football, tennis) Positioned back, or downfield, towards one's own goal, or towards or behind one's baseline or similar reference point.

the brachialis is deep to the biceps

The superficial fascia surrounds the body and includes subcutaneous fat; the deep fascia surrounds the musculoskeletal system; the meningeal fascia surrounds the nervous system; the visceral fascia surrounds body cavities and organs.

2018 November 8, Dr. Melina Jampolis, “The real science behind fascia ailments”, in CNN:

(anatomy, often with to) Further into the body.

That is a deep thought!

(intellectual, social) Complex, involved.

Profound, having great meaning or import, but possibly obscure or not obvious.

They're in deep discussion.

And it's me you need to show / How deep is your love?

1977, “How Deep is Your Love”, performed by Bee Gees:

Significant, not superficial, in extent.

Significant, not superficial, in extent.

a deep subject or plot

Why it was that the ancients had no landscape painting, is a question deep almost as the mystery of life, and harder of solution than all the problems of jurisprudence combined.

Hard to penetrate or comprehend; profound; intricate; obscure.

Deepe clearks ſhe dumb's

c. 1607–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, [George Wilkins?], The Late, and Much Admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: […] [William White and Thomas Creede] for Henry Gosson, […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

I never said I was deep, but I am profoundly shallow / My lack of knowledge is vast, and my horizons are narrow

2009, Jarvis Cocker, “I Never Said I Was Deep”, in Further Complications.:

Of penetrating or far-reaching intellect; not superficial; thoroughly skilled; sagacious; cunning.

Or doth she only seem to take
The touch of change in calm or storm;
But knows no more of transient form
In her deep self, than some dead lake
That holds the shadow of a lark
Hung in the shadow of a heaven?

1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XVI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 26:

Inner, underlying, true; relating to one’s inner or private being rather than what is visible on the surface.

She has a very deep contralto voice.

The departure was not unduly prolonged.[…]Within the door Mrs. Spoker hastily imparted to Mrs. Love a few final sentiments on the subject of Divine Intention in the disposition of buckets; farewells and last commiserations; a deep, guttural instigation to the horse; and the wheels of the waggonette crunched heavily away into obscurity.

1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

That's a very deep shade of blue.

The spices impart a deep flavour to the dish.

The day was cool and snappy for August, and the Rise all green with a lavish nature. Now we plunged into a deep shade with the boughs lacing each other overhead, and crossed dainty, rustic bridges over the cold trout-streams, the boards giving back the clatter of our horses' feet:[…].

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

(of a color or flavour) Highly saturated; rich.

He was in a deep sleep.

(sleep) Sound, heavy (describing a state of sleep from which one is not easily awoken).

The ways in that vale were very deep.

1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “(please specify |book=I to XVI)”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theater, published 1707, →OCLC:

deep time

in the deep past

en-adj

deep (comparative deeper or more deep, superlative deepest or most deep)

deeper (comparative)
more deep (comparative)
deepest (superlative)
most deep (superlative)
deepe (alternative)

shallow

antonym(s) of “in extent in a direction away from the observer”

shallow

antonym(s) of “thick in a vertical direction”

light

antonym(s) of “of a color, dark and highly saturated”

dyb

in extent in a direction away from the observer

From Middle English depe, deep, dep, deop, from Old English dēop (“deep, profound; awful, mysterious; heinous; serious, solemn, earnest; extreme, great”), from Proto-West Germanic *deup, from Proto-Germanic *deupaz (“deep”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-nós, from *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots depe (“deep”), Saterland Frisian djoop (“deep”), West Frisian djip (“deep”), Low German deep (“deep”), Dutch diep (“deep”), German tief (“deep”), Danish dyb (“deep”), Norwegian Bokmål dyp (“deep”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish djup (“deep”), Icelandic djúpur (“deep”), Lithuanian dubùs (“deep, hollow”), Albanian det (“sea”), Welsh dwfn (“deep”).


deep

The ogre lived in a cave deep underground.

We ventured deep into the forest.

His problems lie deep in the subconscious.

I am deep in debt.

Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.

1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:

It is one of the ironies of capital cities that each acts as a symbol of its nation, and yet few are even remotely representative of it. London has always set itself apart from the rest of Britain — but political, economic and social trends are conspiring to drive that wedge deeper.

2013 September 28, Kenan Malik, “London Is Special, but Not That Special”, in The New York Times, retrieved 2013-09-28:

Far, especially far down through something or into something, physically or figuratively.

I thought long and deep.

Deep verſt in books and ſhallow in himſelf,

1671, John Milton, “The Fourth Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 95, line 324:

(also deeply) In a profound, not superficial, manner.

breathe deep, drink deep

A little Learning is a dang'rous Thing; / Drink deep, or taſte not the Pierian Spring:

1711 May, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Criticism, London: […] W[illiam] Lewis […]; and sold by W[illiam] Taylor […], T[homas] Osborn[e] […], and J[ohn] Graves […], →OCLC, page 14:

He's normally a midfield player, but today he's playing deep.

(sports) Back towards one's own goal, baseline, or similar.

en-adv

deep (comparative more deep or deeper, superlative most deep or deepest)

more deep (comparative)
deeper (comparative)
most deep (superlative)
deepest (superlative)
deepe (alternative)


deep

creatures of the deep

(literary, with "the") The deep part of a lake, sea, etc.

Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterfalls: All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

A deep hole or pit, a water well; an abyss.

And what delights can equal those
That stir the spirit’s inner deeps,
When one that loves but knows not, reaps
A truth from one that loves and knows?

1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XLI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 64:

A deep or innermost part of something in general.

the deep of night

(literary, with "the") A silent time; quiet isolation.

For our blues we have the azures and ceruleans, lapis lazulis, the light and dusty, the powder blues, the deeps: royal, sapphire, navy, and marine […]

2014, William H. Gass, On Being Blue: A Philosophical Inquiry, page 59:

(US, rare) The profound part of a problem.

Russell is a safe pair of hands in the deep.

(cricket) A fielding position near the boundary.

en-noun

deep (countable and uncountable, plural deeps)

pellter

(cricket) a fielding position near the boundary


deep

― Ugh, why are these road markings so awfully arranged?
― Quit deeping it bro, just drive, innit.

(slang, transitive) To overthink; to treat as being deeper (“more profound, significant”) than in reality.

en-verb

deep (third-person singular simple present deeps, present participle deeping, simple past and past participle deeped)

deeps (present singular third-person)
deeping (participle present)
deeped (participle past)
deeped (past)
deepe (alternative)