4 N‑UNCOUNT The depth of a situation is its extent and seriousness. □ [+ of ] The country's leadership had underestimated the depth of the crisis.
5 N‑UNCOUNT The depth of someone's knowledge is the great amount that they know. □ [+ of ] We felt at home with her and were impressed with the depth of her knowledge.
6 N‑UNCOUNT If you say that someone or something has depth , 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 depth.
7 N‑PLURAL The depths are places that are a long way below the surface of the sea or earth. [LITERARY ] □ The ship vanished into the depths.
8 N‑PLURAL If you talk about the depths of an area, you mean the parts of it which are very far from the edge. □ [+ of ] …the depths of the countryside.
9 N‑PLURAL If you are in the depths of an unpleasant emotion, you feel that emotion very strongly. □ [+ of ] I was in the depths of despair when the baby was sick.
10 N‑PLURAL If something happens in the depths of a difficult or unpleasant period of time, it happens in the middle and most severe or intense part of it. □ [+ of ] The country is in the depths of a recession.
11 PHRASE If you deal with a subject in depth , you deal with it very thoroughly and consider all the aspects of it. □ We will discuss these three areas in depth.
12 PHRASE If you say that someone is out of their depth , 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 depth.
13 PHRASE If you are out of your depth , you are in water that is deeper than you are tall, with the result that you cannot stand up with your head above water.
14 to plumb new depths → see plumb
15 to plumb the depths → see plumb
de pth charge (depth charges ) N‑COUNT A depth charge is a type of bomb which explodes under water and which is used especially to destroy enemy submarines.
depu|ta|tion /de pjʊte I ʃ ə n/ (deputations ) N‑COUNT A deputation is a small group of people who have been asked to speak to someone on behalf of a larger group of people, especially in order to make a complaint. □ [+ of ] A deputation of elders from the village arrived headed by its chief.
de|pute /d I pjuː t/ (deputes , deputing , deputed ) VERB [usu passive] If you are deputed to do something, someone tells or allows you to do it on their behalf. [FORMAL ] □ [be V -ed to-inf] A sub-committee was deputed to investigate the claims.
depu|tize /de pjʊta I z/ (deputizes , deputizing , deputized ) in BRIT, also use deputise VERB If you deputize for someone, you do something on their behalf, for example attend a meeting. □ [V + for ] I sometimes had to deputise for him in the kitchen. □ [V ] Mr Schulmann cannot be here to welcome you and has asked me to deputize.
depu|ty ◆◆◇ /de pjʊti/ (deputies )
1 N‑COUNT [oft N n] A deputy is the second most important person in an organization such as a business or government department. Someone's deputy often acts on their behalf when they are not there. □ …France's minister for culture and his deputy.
2 N‑COUNT In some parliaments or law-making bodies, the elected members are called deputies .
de|rail /diː re I l/ (derails , derailing , derailed )
1 VERB To derail something such as a plan or a series of negotiations means to prevent it from continuing as planned. [JOURNALISM ] □ [V n] The present wave of political killings is the work of people trying to derail peace talks.
2 VERB If a train is derailed or if it derails , it comes off the track on which it is running. □ [be V -ed] Several people were injured today when a train was derailed. □ [V ] No-one knows why the train derailed. [Also V n]
de|rail|ment /diː re I lmənt/ (derailments ) N‑VAR A derailment is an accident in which a train comes off the track on which it is running.
de|ranged /d I re I ndʒd/ ADJ Someone who is deranged behaves in a wild and uncontrolled way, often as a result of mental illness. □ A deranged man shot and killed 14 people.
de|range|ment /d I re I ndʒmənt/ N‑UNCOUNT Derangement is the state of being mentally ill and unable to think or act in a controlled way. [OLD-FASHIONED ]
der|by /dɑː r bi, [AM ] dɜː rbi/ (derbies )
1 N‑COUNT A derby is a sporting event involving teams from the same area or city. [BRIT ] □ …a North London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham.
2 N‑COUNT [oft n N ] A derby is a sports competition or race where there are no restrictions or limits on who can enter. [AM ]
de|regu|late /diː re gjʊle I t/ (deregulates , deregulating , deregulated ) VERB To deregulate something means to remove controls and regulations from it. □ [V n] …the need to deregulate the U.S. airline industry.
de|regu|la|tion /diː re gjʊle I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT Deregulation is the removal of controls and restrictions in a particular area of business or trade. [BUSINESS ] □ Since deregulation, banks are permitted to set their own interest rates.
der|elict /de r I l I kt/ ADJ A place or building that is derelict is empty and in a bad state of repair because it has not been used or lived in for a long time. □ Her body was found dumped in a derelict warehouse less than a mile from her home.