1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

fathom

verb

Definition of fathomnext
as in to plumb
to measure the depth of (as a body of water) typically with a weighted line the pilot had to continually fathom the river, which drought conditions had lowered to unprecedented levels

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fathom One sketch in particular has Jimmy Kimmel playing a man who can’t fathom a president trying to seek more than two terms. — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 13 July 2026 Of course, the average person can't fathom this. — Ralphie Aversa, USA Today, 25 June 2026 The amount of love and support from our Colorado Springs community and beyond is overwhelming to fathom. — Christa Swanson, CBS News, 22 June 2026 Mike Heller couldn’t fathom Hollywood Hardware’s sign going to waste. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 20 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for fathom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fathom
  1. plumb
  2. scale
  3. span
Verb
  • There is no reading of the statute under which enforcing the Building Code includes plumbing a restaurant’s kitchen.
    — Fabiola Stuyvesant, Sun Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will soon join the ranks of iconic observatories like the Hubble and James Webb telescopes – plumbing the far reaches of the cosmos to answer some of life's greatest mysteries.
    — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of plumb
Verb
  • The larger vision is a manufacturing campus that can scale alongside semiconductor demand while bringing production, logistics and supporting operations under one roof.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
  • As aerospace has scaled back since the end of the Cold War, El Segundo has emerged as a hub for many creative businesses, including toys.
    — Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of scale
Verb
  • Conceived by the airline’s in-house team in collaboration with design agency MARKS Brandimage, the lounge will span two levels and offer seating for more than 400 guests.
    — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2026
  • During the trial, Hedrick cast doubt on Turner’s hacking claim because the material spanned several months and evidence was found on several phone applications.
    — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of span

Browse Nearby Words

fathers (on)
fathom
fathomable
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Fathom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fathom. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on fathom

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fathom

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of aggrandize

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All