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 Before scientists formulated their research, poets and naturalists had fathomed features of this intelligence. — Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2026 The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders officially have competition on the content front which is hard to even fathom. — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 21 July 2026 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 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
  • Capital Engineering, a mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering firm the district has worked with in the past, has been tapped to help assess the district’s losses and develop a plan for remedying the issue.
    — Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of plumb
Verb
  • All onshore experiences are locally guided, offered in small groups, and scaled to different activity levels.
    — Condé Nast Traveler, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Yet at an event on Thursday, Huang displayed unwavering confidence, projecting that Nvidia's chip sales will double next year as nations and corporations continue scaling up AI investments.
    — , CNBC, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of scale
Verb
  • What is changing is the assumption that one type, experienced once and early, should be sufficient for an entire career spanning decades of relentless change.
    — Mo Husain, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The new entity, which will operate under the name Banijay Entertainment, will be the world’s largest independent production company, spanning 25 countries and encompassing more than 170 production and live-events companies.
    — Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 23 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 25 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 tactile

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 25
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All