Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

deep

/diːp/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 5.05 in modern English

Syllables: deep
IPA: /diːp/

7

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

adj

Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

adj

Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

adj

Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

adj

Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

adj

Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

adj

Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

adj

Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

Example Sentences

"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,"

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *deupaz Proto-West Germanic *deup Old English dēop Middle English dep English deep From Middle English dep, deep, depe, 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- (“deep”). Cognates Cognate with Scots depe (“deep”), North Frisian diip, jip (“deep”), Saterland Frisian djoop (“deep”), West Frisian djip (“deep”), Dutch diep (“deep”), Low German deep (“deep”), Luxembourgish déif (“deep”), Central Franconian deep, deef (“deep”), German tief (“deep”), Alemannic German tüüf (“deep”), Mòcheno tiaf (“deep”), Vilamovian tif, tīf, tiif (“deep”), Yiddish טיף (tif, “deep”), Danish dyb (“deep”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish djup (“deep”), Scanian djyber (“deep”), Norwegian Bokmål djup, dyp (“deep”), Faroese and Icelandic djúpur (“deep”), Gothic 𐌳𐌹𐌿𐍀𐍃 (diups, “deep”), Lithuanian dubùs (“deep, hollow”), Albanian det (“sea”), Welsh dwfn (“deep”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *dʰewbʰ-, dep, dēop, *deup, *deupaz, ਦੀਪ

Usage

Inflected Forms

deeper (comparative) more deep (comparative) deepest (superlative) most deep (superlative) deepe (alternative, obsolete) deeps (plural) deeps (present, singular) deeping (participle, present) deeped (participle, past) deeped (past)

Derived Forms

Deepcut deepdraw deepen deepfake deepfelt deepie deepish deepity deepmost deepness deepnight deepsome

Phrases

ace of the deep a mile wide and an inch deep ankle-deep balls deep balls-deep between the devil and the deep blue sea bone-deep deep abscess

Frequently Paired Words

high tall thick wide deeps deep-seated deep six fundus

Synonyms

heavy meaningful profound thick great large voluminous low low-pitched bright rich vivid

Antonyms

superficial shallow frivolous light thin small high high-pitched piping pale desaturated washed-out

Rhymes With

keep sleep cheap asleep sheep steep sweep leap creep jeep heap reap

Questions

How do you pronounce deep?: The recorded pronunciation is /diːp/.
What does deep mean?: Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.
Where does deep come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce deep

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “deep”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/diːp/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “deep”.
Repeat and practice — Say “deep” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.