depth means the vertical distance below a surface; the degree to which something is deep. It carries an Arena rating of 1689, earned across 12 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, depth ranks #51 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,028 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,183 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #6,916 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words.
depth is pronounced /dɛpθ/.
Why “depth” is a great word
A measurement of downward or inward dimension, from a surface to its furthest recess, or of profound intensity and complexity in a subject or feeling. From Middle English depthe, from Old English *dīepþ, from Proto-Germanic *diupiþō, equivalent to deep (from Proto-Germanic *deupaz) + the abstract nominal suffix -th. Unlike "height," which charts an ascent into open air, or "nuance," which traces the fine grain on a surface, depth plumbs a descent into enclosing substance. It is the cold, crushing pressure in the ocean's trench, the profound silence at the heart of a forest, the layered ache in a single, unanswerable question—the fundamental condition of all that is not superficial, and thus of all that is mysterious, perilous, and true.
Etymology
From Middle English depthe, from Old English *dīepþ (“depth”), from Proto-Germanic *diupiþō (“depth”), equivalent to deep + -th (abstract nominal suffix). Cognates Cognate with Scots deepth, Saterland Frisian Djüpte, West Frisian djipte (“depth; abyss, chasm”), Dutch diepte, German Low German Deepd, Luxembourgish Déift, Danish, Norwegian Bokmål dybde (“depth”), Faroese dýpd (“depth”), Icelandic dýpt, Norwegian Nynorsk djupt, dypt, and Gothic 𐌳𐌹𐌿𐍀𐌹𐌸𐌰 (diupiþa, “depth”); further to Old English diepe, German Tiefe, Icelandic dýpi, Norwegian Nynorsk djup, djupn, Swedish djup.
noun
- the vertical distance below a surface; the degree to which something is deepe.g.“Measure the depth of the water in this part of the bay.”
- the distance between the front and the back, as the depth of a drawer or closet
- the intensity, complexity, strength, seriousness or importance of an emotion, situation, etc.e.g.“The depth of her misery was apparent to everyone.”
- lownesse.g.“the depth of a sound”
- the total palette of available colors
- the property of appearing three-dimensionale.g.“The depth of field in this picture is amazing.”
- the deepest part (usually of a body of water)e.g.“The burning ship finally sunk into the depths.”
- a very remote part.e.g.“Into the depths of the jungle...”
- the most severe parte.g.“in the depth of the crisis”
- the number of simple elements which an abstract conception or notion includes; the comprehension or content
- a pair of toothed wheels which work together
- the perpendicular distance from the chord to the farthest point of an arched surface
- the lower of the two ranks of a value in an ordered set of values
- A set of more than one ciphertext enciphered with the same key.
- An invariant of rings and modules, encoding information about dimensionality; see Depth (ring theory).
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- depthy 78% match — Deep; profound. vs depth →
- depths 76% match — The deepest part. (Usually of a body of water.) vs depth →
- deepness 75% match — The state or quality of being deep (either physically or metaphorically) vs depth →
- depthness 74% match — Synonym of depth. vs depth →
- deep 72% match — 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. vs depth →
- depthen 68% match — To increase the depth of; make deep or deeper vs depth →
- deepsome 67% match — Characterised or marked by depth; deep vs depth →
- depthless 66% match — Having no depth, or having a depth that is impossible to determine; immeasurably deep. vs depth →