fathom

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

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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 The man noted the large sum was hard to fathom. Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 25 Sep. 2025 That’s hard to fathom … especially from the catcher position — which is a grind. Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 25 Sep. 2025 In 2021, Doe’s statement to police was almost too horrible to fathom. Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025 Jimmy Kimmel can't fathom why Trump is ahead in several crucial swing states. Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fathom
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fathom
Verb
  • Safdie’s unabashed desire to plumb a seeming invincible figure’s decline made Kerr a wise choice for a subject, but also a somewhat bold one.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2025
  • At less than two hours of total run time, Brian and Maggie only has so much space to plumb the intricacies of Thatcher’s term in office, or its impact on wider British and global society.
    Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Fortune has chronicled the growing pressure on companies to either scale back or quietly rebrand DEI programs amid shifting political and cultural winds.
    Ashley Lutz, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2025
  • In their new roles, Bakx and Rotter will lead 885’s sports investment portfolio—encompassing Baller League, Blue Crow Sports Group and the Professional Fighters League—and help identify and scale new investment opportunities across the wider sports ecosystem.
    Sportico Staff, Sportico.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • That’s highly encouraging and spans much more than the lopsided game against the Raiders, a game in which Kansas City eased off the accelerator instead of running up the score even more.
    Jeff Howe, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The new simulations could now resolve features that spanned distances six times Earth’s 8,000-mile (or 128,000-kilometer) diameter down to tens of thousands of miles—nearly 100 times better than previous simulations.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 24 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fathom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fathom. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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