OUT OF ONE'S DEPTH Definition & Meaning

out of one's depth

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, beyond one's depth . Outside one's understanding or competence, as in He was out of his depth in that advanced calculus class , or The conductor realized that playing the fugue at the right tempo was beyond their depth . This expression alludes to being in water so deep that one might sink. [c. 1600] Also see over one's head .

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Example Sentences

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The issue takes on a special coloration when the topic under discussion is literally a matter of life or death and when being out of one’s depth can have serious consequences.

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Being out of one’s depth is an inevitable fate for a Henry Green character.

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Depth′less, having no depth.—Out of one's depth, in water where one cannot touch bottom: in water too deep for one's safety: beyond one's faculties.—The depths, the lowest pitch of humiliation and misery.

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The beach is very steep; and as one gets out of one's depth immediately, indifferent swimmers put on a couple of bladders—which stick out behind their backs and produce a strange effect—or else take a bathing-man into the water with them.

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Adv. beyond one's depth, out of one's depth; over head and ears; mark twine, mark twain.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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out of one's depth

Idioms and Phrases

Example Sentences