Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for knee-high.
Synonyms

knee-high

American  
[nee-hahy, nee-hahy] / ˈniˈhaɪ, ˈniˌhaɪ /

adjective

  1. as high as the knees.

noun

  1. knee-highs. Also knee highs, knee-hi's, knee his socks, stockings, or boots that cover the lower legs to just below the knees.

knee-high British  

adjective

  1. another word for knee-deep

  2. as high as the knee

    a knee-high child
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of knee-high

An Americanism dating back to 1735–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In Nyakach, in the west, children walked through knee-high water and residents scooped water from inundated houses -- though some were submerged up to the roof.

From Barron's • Mar. 22, 2026

After all, Bizot brought down Murphy with a knee-high challenge - although it was not with studs leading.

From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026

Shot primarily knee-high, framing shots as a dog would see them, we follow Indy through various scenes of creeping and then crashing dread as though we're hanging from his collar.

From Salon • Apr. 7, 2025

I rock a Beatle wig and knee-high boots.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2025

It contained perhaps forty gravestones and was surrounded by a knee-high stone wall covered in slippery moss.

From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.