as in plumbing
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
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Recent Examples of fathoming
For starters, even though federal law requires hospitals to list their prices publicly, fathoming these files is almost impossible.
—
Rufina Chow,
NBC news,
3 Apr. 2026
However, Chiefs veteran center Creed Humphrey says his team won't be listening to those, or even fathoming the thought of panicking.
—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
18 Nov. 2025
Advertisement Svetlana’s optimistic pretend normalcy and Lyudmila’s practical approach to medication point to impossibility of fathoming the many crushing consequences of the Ukraine crisis.
—
Nina Khrushcheva,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
Rufina Chow,
NBC news,
3 Apr. 2026
However, Chiefs veteran center Creed Humphrey says his team won't be listening to those, or even fathoming the thought of panicking.
—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
18 Nov. 2025
Advertisement Svetlana’s optimistic pretend normalcy and Lyudmila’s practical approach to medication point to impossibility of fathoming the many crushing consequences of the Ukraine crisis.
—
Nina Khrushcheva,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fathoming
Verb
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Online influencers can invent careers by plumbing the court docket in a celebrity lawsuit (see the Blake Lively–Justin Baldoni case).
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Entertainment giants are truly grasping for any hint of intellectual property this days — including by plumbing the depths of random playground games.
Verb
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Calvelli brings leadership experience across global sports, with expertise in building and scaling world class sports organizations and commercial platforms.
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Sustainable growth means systems, cash and people scaling in lockstep.
Cite this Entry
“Fathoming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fathoming. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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