(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
The ~ of something such as a river or hole is the distance downwards from its top surface, or between its upper and lower surfaces.
The smaller lake ranges from five to fourteen feet in ~...
The ~ of the shaft is 520 yards...
They were detected at ~s of more than a kilometre in the sea.
N-VAR: oft amount in N, with poss, N of amount
2.
The ~ of something such as a cupboard or drawer is the distance between its front surface and its back.
N-VAR: oft amount in N, with poss, N of amount
3.
If an emotion is very strongly or intensely felt, you can talk about its ~.
I am well aware of the ~ of feeling that exists in Londonderry...
= strength
N-VAR: usu N of n
4.
The ~ of a situation is its extent and seriousness.
The country’s leadership had underestimated the ~ of the crisis.
= severity
N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n
5.
The ~ of someone’s knowledge is the great amount that they know.
We felt at home with her and were impressed with the ~ of her knowledge...
N-UNCOUNT: usu N of n
6.
If you say that someone or something has ~, you mean that they have serious and interesting qualities which are not immediately obvious and which you have to think about carefully before you can fully understand them.
His music lacks ~...
N-UNCOUNT: also N in pl
7.
The ~s are places that are a long way below the surface of the sea or earth. (LITERARY)
The ship vanished into the ~s.
N-PLURAL: the N
8.
If you talk about the ~s of an area, you mean the parts of it which are very far from the edge.
...the ~s of the countryside...
N-PLURAL: the N of n
9.
If you are in the ~s of an unpleasant emotion, you feel that emotion very strongly.
I was in the ~s of despair when the baby was sick.
N-PLURAL: the N of n
10.
If something happens in the ~s of a difficult or unpleasant period of time, it happens in the middle and most severe or intense part of it.
The country is in the ~s of a recession.
N-PLURAL: the N of n
11.
If you deal with a subject in ~, you deal with it very thoroughly and consider all the aspects of it.
We will discuss these three areas in ~...
PHRASE: PHR after v
12.
If you say that someone is out of their ~, you mean that they are in a situation that is much too difficult for them to be able to cope with it.
Mr Gibson is clearly intellectually out of his ~...
PHRASE: usu v-link PHR
13.
If you are out of your ~, you are in water that is deeper than you are tall, with the result that you cannot stand up with your head above water.
PHRASE: v-link PHR
14.
to plumb new ~s: see plumb
to plumb the ~s: see plumb