Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Thesaurus

fathom

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of fathom

  1. 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 sound, plumbRelated Words gauge (also gage), scale, span; remeasure, replumb

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

avoirdupois
How Many Scruples in a Dram?
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
alt-59721dd897313
The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail
emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

fathom was our Word of the Day on 05/05/2013. Hear the podcast!

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Get Word of the Day daily email, delivered to your inbox!

Learn More about fathom

  1. Dictionary: Definition of fathom Spanish Central: Translation of fathom Nglish: Translation of fathom for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of fathom for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fathom

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up fathom? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

WORD OF THE DAY

advise

play

to counsel, recommend, or inform

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. scaramouch A new White House communications director

  2. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  3. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

  4. calumny 'An untrue statement that is made to damage someone's reputation'

  5. kakistocracy Frustrated Twitter users have been searching for this word.

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Words at Play

alt-59721dd897313
The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail

Give them your best

image386126722
Words and Phrases That Come from the Dinner Table

Fill your plate with these surprising food words

ghost-being-disinvited-from-party
'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?

A disinvited guest is an uninvited problem

alt-596f730ceb5ae
Words We're Watching: 'Scoby'

Kombucha lovers unite.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?
How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz
Bee Cubed
Bee Cubed

Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.

Play the game