fathom

/'fæðəm/
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fathom

A sailor uses a sounding line to fathom the depth of the harbor.

Definition

  1. Noun:

    • A unit of length for measuring water depth: A fathom is a nautical unit of measurement equal to six feet (approximately 1.8288 meters), primarily used to express the depth of water.
    • A unit of volume in mining: In mining contexts, a fathom is a unit of volume for ore, equal to six cubic feet.

  2. Verb:

    • To measure depth: To fathom means to measure the depth of a body of water, typically using a sounding line.
    • To comprehend or understand: To fathom means to penetrate and understand something complex, profound, or mysterious.
Usage Examples

  • Noun:

    • The shipwreck lies at a depth of twenty fathoms.
    • The old mining report listed the yield in fathoms of ore.

  • Verb:

    • The sailor used a weighted line to fathom the harbor's depth.
    • I cannot fathom why she made such a drastic decision.
Advanced Usage
  • "to fathom something out": To succeed in understanding or solving something puzzling.
    • It took me hours to fathom out the instructions for the new software.
Variants and Related Words
  • Fathomable (adj): Capable of being understood or measured.
    • The concept was complex but ultimately fathomable.
  • Fathomless (adj): Too deep or complex to be measured or understood; unfathomable.
    • She stared into the fathomless depths of the ocean.
  • Unfathomable (adj): Incapable of being fully understood or explored.
    • The universe holds unfathomable mysteries.
Synonyms
  • Verb (measure): Sound, plumb, gauge.
  • Verb (understand): Comprehend, grasp, penetrate, discern.
Related Phrasal Verbs
  • Fathom out: To finally understand something after thinking about it.
    • Can you fathom out what this cryptic message means?
Related Idioms
  • "Can't fathom it": A common expression meaning one is completely unable to understand something.
    • His motives are so strange; I just can't fathom it.
fathom

A sailor uses a sounding line to fathom the depth of the harbor.

Noun
  1. (mining) a unit of volume (equal to 6 cubic feet) used in measuring bodies of ore
  2. a linear unit of measurement (equal to 6 feet) for water depth
Verb
  1. measure the depth of (a body of water) with a sounding line
  2. come to understand

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