depth

noun \ ˈdepth \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

Examples: depth in a Sentence

Definition of depth

plural depths play \ˈdepths, ˈdep(t)s\

1 a (1) : a deep place in a body of water

fish living at great depths

(2) : a part that is far from the outside or surface

the depths of the woods

(3) : abyss 1

b (1) : a profound or intense state (as of thought or feeling)

the depths of sorrow

; also : a reprehensibly low condition

hadn't realized that standards had fallen to such depths

(2) : the middle of a time (such as a season)

the depths of winter

(3) : the worst part

the depths of the depression

2 mathematics

a : the perpendicular (see ¹perpendicular 1b) measurement downward from a surface

the depth of a swimming pool

b : the direct linear measurement from front to back

the depth of a bookshelf

3 : the quality of being deep

the depth of the pass

4 : the degree of intensity

depth of a color

; also : the quality of being profound (as in insight) or full (as of knowledge)

the depth of her experience

5 : the quality or state of being complete or thorough

a study will be made in depth

6 US, sports : the quality of having many good players

a team that lacks depth in the outfield

—

depthless

play \ˈdepth-ləs\ adjective

— beyond one's depth or out of one's depth

: beyond the limits of one's capabilities

an actor who is out of his depth in serious drama

See depth defined for English-language learners

See depth defined for kids

Examples of depth in a Sentence

These fish typically live at depths of 500 feet or more.
Students will test the temperature of the water at different depths.
The boat sank to a depth of several hundred feet.
measuring the depth of the water
the depth of a hole
The pool has a depth of 12 feet.
I began working at the factory during the depth of the Depression.

Recent Examples of depth from the Web

Currently, to get the most in-depth experience, a user would have had to search for a specific hashtag that identifies the event, follow the tweets of Hawaiian government officials, or search for other accounts.

— selina wang, chicagotribune.com, "Twitter aims to predict what you want to know, when it happens," 13 June 2018
Currently, to get the most in-depth experience, a user would have had to search for a specific hashtag that identifies the event, follow the tweets of Hawaiian government officials, or search for other accounts.

— Fortune, "Twitter Will Personalize News for Users in Comprehensive Product Update," 13 June 2018
Players must tread water in a pool averaging 7 feet in depth.

— jen murphy, WSJ, "The Nonstop Burn of Water Polo," 9 June 2018
His sister will miss his big hugs and brother will miss his in-depth conversations about movies.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 6/7," 7 June 2018
All of Michigan's receivers went in depth this spring about the difference in approach with regard to coaching inside their position group.

— nick baumgardner, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan football's Tarik Black, Donovan Peoples-Jones separate at WR," 6 June 2018
But they weren’t studied in-depth until Christopher Austin of Louisiana State University became fascinated by them decades later.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "These Lizards Evolved Toxic Green Blood," 17 May 2018
The study, which contains six in-depth cases studies of some of the country’s largest mass transit systems, paints a compelling picture of transit in need of a true infrastructure week.

— patrick sisson, Curbed, "U.S. public transit’s precarious state could cost country billions," 17 May 2018
Chemical peels vary in depth, from superficial to medium to deep.

— Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The clinical advantage of chemical peels," 16 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'depth.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.