Definition of fathom - Reverso English Dictionary
Verb
1.
comprehensionunderstand something deeply or completely
- She couldn't fathom his strange behavior.
2.
depth measurementTECH. measure the depth of waterTECH.
- They used a line to fathom the river's depth..
Noun
1.
measurementTECH. unit of length equal to six feet, used in measuring water depthTECH.
- The ship was anchored in twenty fathoms of water..
2.
understandingdepth of insight or mental reach
- His fathom of the subject was impressive.
Expressions with fathom
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understand something difficult after thinking carefully
I can't fathom out why he left the party.
understand something after much thought
I can't fathom it out without more information.
not understand something even after thinking about it carefully
I can't fathom why they canceled the project so suddenly.
find impossible to truly understand or imagine something
I cannot fathom why he left without saying goodbye.
unit of area equal to 36 square feet
The seabed was mapped in square fathoms.
Origin of fathom
Old English, fæthm (embrace, fathom)
Examples of fathom in a sentence
It's hard to fathom the depth of her emotions. They needed to fathom the lake's depth. Divers were sent to fathom the ocean floor. The diver descended to a depth of five fathoms. The submarine navigated through waters of varying fathoms. Her fathom of human nature was profound.
The philosopher's fathom of life was deep.
View all translations of fathom
Click below to see the appropriate translations facing each meaning.
- French:comprendre, brasse, ...
- German:begreifen, Klafter, ...
- Italian:comprendere, fathom, ...
- Spanish:comprender, braza, ...
- Portuguese:compreender, braça, ...
- Chinese:理解, 英寻, ...
- Japanese:理解する, ファゾム, ...
- Arabic:أَدْرَكَ, قَامَة, ...
- Hebrew:לְהָבִין, פַאתוֹם, ...
- Russian:постигать, фатом, ...
- Ukrainian:зрозуміти, сажень, ...
- Hindi:समझ पाना, फैदम, ...
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