idiom · neutral
out of one's depth
/aʊt əv wʌnz dɛpθ/out·of·one's·DEPTH
to be unable to deal with something because it is beyond your knowledge or abilities
Examples
“I was out of my depth in the advanced coding workshop and had to ask for extra help.”
“When asked about tax law, she admitted she was out of her depth and referred the client to a specialist.”
“Volunteering in the emergency unit made some trainees feel out of their depth at first.”
Band 8 sentence
“Assigned to the senior legal team, I often felt out of my depth but used the opportunity to learn from experienced lawyers.”
Collocations
- feel out of one's depth
- be completely out of one's depth
Word family
Common mistakes
out of depth→out of one's depth
over my depth→out of my depth
Say it for a higher band
5not confident→6in over one's head→7+out of one's depth
Synonyms
in over one's head
beyond one's expertise
Easily confused
in over one's head
“He took on too many clients and quickly found himself in over his head.”
Related words
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In Work
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