"knee-high" means: : reaching to the height of a person's knees.. There is a drug-related reference, so this is one worth noticing without overreacting. Many teens encounter such vocabulary through music, film and friends without any direct involvement. A neutral, curious conversation about where they heard the term and what they understand by it is far more useful than a confrontation. Watch for repeated context, not a single word.
knee-high
: reaching to the height of a person's knees.
Definitions
#1·Apr 27, 2026
: reaching to the height of a person's knees.
The corn is knee-high.
For parents
"knee-high" means: : reaching to the height of a person's knees.. There is a drug-related reference, so this is one worth noticing without overreacting. Many teens encounter such vocabulary through music, film and friends without any direct involvement. A neutral, curious conversation about where they heard the term and what they understand by it is far more useful than a confrontation. Watch for repeated context, not a single word.
For ESL learners
"knee-high" means: : reaching to the height of a person's knees.. Register: neutral, standard English, usable in most everyday contexts. A common non-native mistake is to use the word in the wrong register, or to assume one fixed meaning when it is actually polysemous; always check the surrounding register and the audience before producing it yourself. In formal writing, prefer a neutral synonym or a short descriptive phrase, and use this word only when you have heard or read it being used naturally in a comparable context.
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#2·Apr 27, 2026
(US, usually, in the plural) A sock or stocking that reaches to just below the knees.
Heard in the wild
“Well, so far, May feels like wading through knee-high treacle. Super stuff.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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#3·Apr 27, 2026
(figurative) Very young.
John Fred Gourrier had been listening to Fats Domino, Smiley Lewis, and the Spiders since he was knee-high.
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For specific readers
Why is this section here?
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
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🗺️About Regional & Other slang
Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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Tags
Other words near "knee-high" (K)
knave bairnknaveshipknawelknawvshawlknee-bucklerknee-deep in the Big Muddykneeloknees-upknee-tremblerknepknepparsknickerbocker glory
Browse all slang words starting with K.