fathoms

verb

present tense third-person singular of fathom
as in plumbs
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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fathoms
  1. plumbs
  2. scales
Verb
  • Ophelia’s Got Talent plumbs the depths of the nineteenth-century cult of Ophelia, epitomized in John Everett Millais’s famous painting of her watery death.
    — Caroline Lillian Schopp, Artforum, 13 May 2026
  • As Latifi plumbs the industry, what stands out is just how manufactured this content is, and how often the children are being manipulated to perform.
    — Kristen Martin, The Atlantic, 13 May 2026
Definition of plumbs
Verb
  • Raiders drops Turf War entirely and builds a single-player loot chase across the Spirhalite Islands, with four-player co-op that scales difficulty by headcount.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • That trademark indecision of summer takes root in her words and spreads through the music until her vocals diverge in the chorus, peeling like a clementine’s skin as one shrill line scales upward and the other remains monotone.
    — Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 21 July 2026
Definition of scales
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.

Browse Nearby Words

fathomless
fathoms
fatigue
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Cite this Entry

“Fathoms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fathoms. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on fathoms

Nglish: Translation of fathoms for Spanish Speakers

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