Skip to main content
PlainSpell

deep

/diːp/adjective, adverb, noun, verb

deep is spelled D-E-E-P: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 112 times per million words in written English, the 951st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, deep means “Extending far down from the top, or surface, to the bottom, literally or figuratively” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in deep?

Letters4: D-E-E-P
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing112 times per million words; the 951st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is deep?

Deep appears 112 times per million words in written English, the 951st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce deep?

  • /diːp/

Deep has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-deep.ogg, En-au-deep.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with deep?

No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as deep.

Spelled with the same letters in another order: peed.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of deep

  • deeper comparative
  • more deep comparative
  • deepest superlative
  • most deep superlative
  • deeps plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • deeping participle, present
  • deeped participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does deep mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Extending far down from the top, or surface, to the bottom, literally or figuratively.

    The lake is extremely deep.

  2. 2

    Positioned far from the surface or other reference point, especially down through something or into something.

    Diving down to deep wrecks can be dangerous.

  3. 3

    Positioned far from the boundaries of or main approaches to (the specified place); interior.

  4. 4

    Far in extent in another (non-downwards, but generally also non-upwards) direction, especially front-to-back.

    The shelves are 30 centimetres deep. – They are deep shelves.

  5. 5

    Extending to a level or length equivalent to the stated thing.

    The water was waist-deep.

  6. 6

    In a (specified) number of rows or layers.

    a crowd four deep along the funeral procession, with people two deep on the sidewalks

  7. 7

    Voluminous.

    to take a deep breath / sigh / drink

  8. 8

    Far from the center of the playing area, near to the boundary of the playing area, either in absolute terms or relative to a point of reference.

    He is fielding at deep mid wicket.

adverb

  1. 1

    Far, especially far down through something or into something, physically or figuratively.

    The ogre lived in a cave deep underground.

  2. 2

    In a profound, not superficial, manner.

    I thought long and deep.

  3. 3

    In large volume.

    breathe deep, drink deep

  4. 4

    Back towards one's own goal, baseline, or similar.

    He's normally a midfield player, but today he's playing deep.

noun

  1. 1

    The deep part of a lake, sea or ocean.

    creatures of the deep

  2. 2

    The sea, the ocean.

  3. 3

    A deep hole or pit, a water well; an abyss.

  4. 4

    A deep or innermost part of something in general.

  5. 5

    A silent time; quiet isolation.

    the deep of night

  6. 6

    rareA deep shade of colour.

  7. 7

    USrareThe profound part of a problem.

  8. 8

    A fielding position near the boundary.

    Russell is a safe pair of hands in the deep.

verb

  1. 1

    slangTo overthink; to treat as being deeper (“more profound, significant”) than in reality.

    ― Ugh, why are these road markings so awfully arranged? ― Quit deeping it bro, just drive, innit.

  2. 2

    slangTo think about, especially deeply (“profoundly”); to consider.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Deep in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchprofond (having its bottom far down), épais (thick in a vertical direction), grave (of a sound or voice, low in pitch), foncé, foncée (of a color, dark and highly saturated), profondeurs (the sea, the ocean)
Germantief (having its bottom far down), Tiefe ((literary) part of a lake, sea, etc)
Portuguesefundo, profundo (having its bottom far down), espesso (thick in a vertical direction), profundezas ((literary) part of a lake, sea, etc), de fundo (in extent in a direction away from the observer), profundamente (deeply)
Spanishprofundo, hondo, fundo (having its bottom far down)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does deep come from?

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”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after deep