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 Mike Heller couldn’t fathom Hollywood Hardware’s sign going to waste. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 20 June 2026 The idea struck me as hard to fathom. — Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 18 June 2026 Its scale — a thousand times more than a billion — is difficult to fathom for those of us who aren’t among the 3,363 billionaires that currently exist in our world. — Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 12 June 2026 Today, such foresight remains almost hard to fathom. — Literary Hub, 8 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for fathom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fathom
  1. plumb
  2. scale
  3. span
Verb
  • But even as Moon landings, space shuttles, and reusable rockets seized the headlines, Link, along with a stubborn handful of engineers, explorers, and flat-out dreamers, kept plumbing the ocean instead.
    — Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 2 July 2026
  • And eastern Anatolia, where the Iranian gas actually lands, was plumbed for flows from the east.
    — Güney Yıldız, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
Definition of plumb
Verb
  • To summarize, physical AI governance is an extension of operational and safety governance, and the boards best positioned are ones that import high-reliability-organization oversight practices rather than scaling up their AI ethics frameworks.
    — Anjana Susarla, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026
  • Skeptics doubt the model scales to studio budgets, and some top creators are rejecting Hollywood deals entirely, choosing to release original work directly on YouTube.
    — Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Definition of scale
Verb
  • The six-bedroom home spans 15,000 square feet over three floors.
    — Tori Latham, Robb Report, 10 July 2026
  • Utility territories most often span multiple counties, while rate-setting rules differ by state and utility.
    — Daniel Yue, The Conversation, 10 July 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 11 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on fathom

Nglish: Translation of fathom for Spanish Speakers

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 xeric

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
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
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All