waist-deep
waist-deep — 形容詞
1. describes water, snow, mud, or a similar loose substance that is deep enough to
及腰深的
水、雪或泥等深及人的腰部
describes water, snow, mud, or a similar loose substance that is deep enough to come up to the level of a standing person's waist; also used of someone who is sunk into such a substance as far as the waist.
By morning, the floodwater in Nia's kitchen was waist-deep and still rising fast.
到了早上，Nia 廚房裡的洪水已及腰深，而且還在快速上漲。
predicative: [water/flood] + be + waist-deep
The snow outside the cabin was already waist-deep when Darius woke up on Sunday.
Darius 星期天醒來時，小屋外的雪已經積到及腰深。
Rescue workers waded through waist-deep mud to reach the stranded farmhouse.
救援人員涉過及腰深的泥濘，才抵達那座受困的農舍。
attributive: waist-deep + noun (mud, snow, water)
Within minutes the children were waist-deep in the rising river, clinging to a branch.
短短幾分鐘內，孩子們就泡在及腰深的暴漲河水裡，緊抓著一根樹枝。
person as subject: be waist-deep in [substance]
Élise realised the water was waist-deep only after she stepped off the hidden ledge.
Élise 踏出那道隱藏的礁石邊緣後，才發現水深已及腰。
- waist-deep water
- waist-deep snow
- waist-deep mud
- waist-deep in floodwater
- knee-deep
same pattern but shallower — the substance reaches only the knees
- chest-deep
deeper than waist-deep; the substance rises as high as the chest
- waist-high
stresses the height something rises to rather than depth you stand in; common for grass or walls
- ankle-deep
very shallow — the substance barely covers the feet
文法句型
be waist-deep (in something)
waist-deep + noun
用法筆記
Often appears predicatively after 'be' with water, snow, flood, or mud as the subject (the water was waist-deep), or directly before such a noun (waist-deep snow). When the subject is a person, it needs 'in' before the substance: someone is waist-deep IN the mud.
常見錯誤
waist-deep — 副詞
1. in a way that goes as deep as the level of the waist; used when someone wades, s
及腰地
涉入水、雪或泥中達腰部的高度
in a way that goes as deep as the level of the waist; used when someone wades, sinks, or moves through water, snow, or mud that rises that high on the body.
Romi waded waist-deep into the cold lake to free the tangled fishing net.
Romi 涉水及腰走進冰冷的湖中，去解開纏住的漁網。
adverb of degree: wade / plunge + waist-deep into [water]
The hikers sank waist-deep into the soft snow with every careful step forward.
那群登山客每小心向前一步，就陷進及腰深的鬆軟雪地裡。
sink waist-deep into [snow / mud]
Kabir plunged waist-deep into the muddy water to push the stalled truck free.
Kabir 衝進及腰深的泥水中，奮力把拋錨的卡車推出來。
Soldiers marched waist-deep through the flooded paddy fields to reach the cut-off village.
士兵們涉過及腰深的氾濫稻田，前往那座對外聯絡被切斷的村莊。
verb + waist-deep through [floodwater]
Yuna struggled forward, buried waist-deep in wet sand, as the rising tide crept closer.
Yuna 半身陷在及腰深的濕沙裡，隨著潮水逼近而奮力向前。
- wade waist-deep into
- sink waist-deep into
- plunge waist-deep
- march waist-deep through
- knee-deep
same adverbial pattern but only as deep as the knees
文法句型
verb + waist-deep + in / into / through + noun
用法筆記
Modifies a verb of motion or position (wade, sink, plunge, march) and is normally followed by 'in', 'into', or 'through' plus the substance. Distinguish from the adjective use, where 'waist-deep' describes the substance itself rather than how far someone enters it.