fathom

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fath·om

(făth′əm)

n. Abbr. fth. or fm.

A unit of length equal to 6 feet (1.83 meters), used principally in the measurement and specification of marine depths.

tr.v. fath·omed, fath·om·ing, fath·oms

1. To penetrate to the meaning or nature of; comprehend.

2. To determine the depth of; sound.

[Middle English fathme, from Old English fæthm, outstretched arms; see petə- in Indo-European roots.]

fath′om·a·ble adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fathom

(ˈfæðəm)

1. (Units) a unit of length equal to six feet (1.829 metres), used to measure depths of water

2. (Mining & Quarrying) mining a unit of volume usually equal to six cubic feet, used in measuring ore bodies

3. (Forestry) forestry a unit of volume equal to six cubic feet, used for measuring timber

vb (tr)

4. to measure the depth of, esp with a sounding line; sound

5. to penetrate (a mystery, problem, etc); discover the meaning of

[Old English fæthm; related to Old Frisian fethem outstretched arms, Old Norse fathmr embrace, Old High German fadum cubit, Latin patēre to gape]

ˈfathomable adj

ˈfathomer n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fath•om

(ˈfæð əm)

n., pl. fath•oms, (esp. collectively) fath•om, n.

1. a nautical unit of length equal to 6 feet (1.8 m). Abbr.: f., fath, fm

v.t.

2. to measure the depth of by means of a sounding line; sound.

3. to penetrate to the truth of; comprehend; understand: to fathom someone's motives.

[before 900; Middle English fathme, Old English fæthm span of outstretched arms; c. Old High German fadum cubit, Old Norse fathmr embrace; akin to patent]

fath′om•a•ble, adj.

fath′om•er, n.

fath·om

(făth′əm)

A unit of length equal to six feet (1.8 meters), used to measure the depth of water.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Fathom

a quantity of wood, six feet square in elevation, 1577.

fathom

Past participle: fathomed
Gerund: fathoming

Imperative
fathom
fathom

Present
I fathom
you fathom
he/she/it fathoms
we fathom
you fathom
they fathom

Preterite
I fathomed
you fathomed
he/she/it fathomed
we fathomed
you fathomed
they fathomed

Present Continuous
I am fathoming
you are fathoming
he/she/it is fathoming
we are fathoming
you are fathoming
they are fathoming

Present Perfect
I have fathomed
you have fathomed
he/she/it has fathomed
we have fathomed
you have fathomed
they have fathomed

Past Continuous
I was fathoming
you were fathoming
he/she/it was fathoming
we were fathoming
you were fathoming
they were fathoming

Past Perfect
I had fathomed
you had fathomed
he/she/it had fathomed
we had fathomed
you had fathomed
they had fathomed

Future
I will fathom
you will fathom
he/she/it will fathom
we will fathom
you will fathom
they will fathom

Future Perfect
I will have fathomed
you will have fathomed
he/she/it will have fathomed
we will have fathomed
you will have fathomed
they will have fathomed

Future Continuous
I will be fathoming
you will be fathoming
he/she/it will be fathoming
we will be fathoming
you will be fathoming
they will be fathoming

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been fathoming
you have been fathoming
he/she/it has been fathoming
we have been fathoming
you have been fathoming
they have been fathoming

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been fathoming
you will have been fathoming
he/she/it will have been fathoming
we will have been fathoming
you will have been fathoming
they will have been fathoming

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been fathoming
you had been fathoming
he/she/it had been fathoming
we had been fathoming
you had been fathoming
they had been fathoming

Conditional
I would fathom
you would fathom
he/she/it would fathom
we would fathom
you would fathom
they would fathom

Past Conditional
I would have fathomed
you would have fathomed
he/she/it would have fathomed
we would have fathomed
you would have fathomed
they would have fathomed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

fathom

(fm) Unit of length, especially used to measure marine depth. 1 fm = 6 ft. Originally based on the span of two outstretched arms.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	fathom - a linear unit of measurement (equal to 6 feet) for water depth fthm linear measure, linear unit - a unit of measurement of length yard, pace - a unit of length equal to 3 feet; defined as 91.44 centimeters; originally taken to be the average length of a stride
	2.	fathom - (mining) a unit of volume (equal to 6 cubic feet) used in measuring bodies of ore fthm mining, excavation - the act of extracting ores or coal etc from the earth capacity measure, capacity unit, cubage unit, cubature unit, cubic content unit, cubic measure, displacement unit, volume unit - a unit of measurement of volume or capacity
Verb	1.	fathom - come to understand penetrate, bottom understand - know and comprehend the nature or meaning of; "She did not understand her husband"; "I understand what she means"
	2.	fathom - measure the depth of (a body of water) with a sounding line sound measure, quantify - express as a number or measure or quantity; "Can you quantify your results?"

fathom

verb understand, grasp, comprehend, interpret, get to the bottom of I couldn't fathom what he was talking about.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

fathom

verb

1. To perceive and recognize the meaning of:

accept, apprehend, catch (on), compass, comprehend, conceive, follow, get, grasp, make out, read, see, sense, take, take in, understand.

Informal: savvy.

Slang: dig.

Chiefly British: twig.

Scots: ken.

Idioms: get a handle on, get the picture.

2. To perceive directly with the intellect:

apprehend, compass, comprehend, grasp, know, understand.

Scots: ken.

Translations

مِقْياس الأعْماق ويُساوي ستة أقْداميُدْرِك، يَسْبر غَوْر

pochopitsáh

begribefattefavn

Faden ergründen ausloten begreifen Klafter

braza

süld

syli

brasse comprendre saisir

ölöl3

faîmurkomast til botns í

braccio capire comprendere penetrare

jūros sieksnis

izdibinātizprastjūras asssaprast

favn lodde

braça

siaha

iyice anlamakkulaç

揣摩英寻

fathom

[ˈfæðəm]

A. N → braza f
water five fathoms deep → agua de una profundidad de cinco brazas

B. VT

1. (Naut) → sond(e)ar

2. (fig) (also fathom out) → descifrar, llegar a entender; [+ mystery] → desentrañar
I can't fathom why → no me explico por qué
I can't fathom him/it out at all → no le/lo entiendo en absoluto

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

fathom

[ˈfæðəm]

n → brasse f (= 1828 mm)

[+ mystery] → sonder, pénétrer; [+ sb's attitude, behaviour] → comprendre

(also fathom out) to fathom what ... → comprendre ce que ...
We're trying to fathom out what's going on → Nous essayons de comprendre ce qu'il se passe.
to fathom why ... → comprendre pourquoi ...

fathom

n → Faden m

(lit) → ausloten

(= understand) → ermessen (geh); (inf: also fathom out) → verstehen; I just can’t fathom him (out) → er ist mir ein Rätsel; I couldn’t fathom it (out) → ich kam der Sache nicht auf den Grund, ich kam nicht dahinter (inf); we’re trying to fathom (out) what … → wir versuchen zu ergründen, was …

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

fathom

[ˈfæðəm]

1. n (Naut) → braccio (=1,83m)

2. vt (fig) (also fathom out) → capire; (mystery) → penetrare, sondare
I can't fathom why → non riesco a capire perché
I can't fathom it out → non ci capisco assolutamente niente

fathom

(ˈfaðəm) noun

a measure of depth of water (6 feet or 1.8 metres). The water is 8 fathoms deep.

verb

to understand (a mystery etc). I cannot fathom why she should have left home.

References in classic literature ?

"Oodles and oodles of it, my gentlemen, in cask and chest, in cask and chest, a fathom under the sand."

View in context

I recommend you to sink forthwith to the bottom of the sea; and if you come another fathom nearer, I'll stave your wicked head in with this oar."

View in context

If the machinery of the Law could be depended on to fathom every case of suspicion, and to conduct every process of inquiry, with moderate assistance only from the lubricating influences of oil of gold, the events which fill these pages might have claimed their share of the public attention in a Court of Justice.

View in context

"Me give 'm half- fathom shell money that fella dog."

View in context

And some in dreams assured were Of the spirit that plagued us so: Nine fathom deep he had followed us From the land of mist and snow.

View in context

Once more the master is heard: "Give her forty-five fathom to the water's edge," and then he, too, is done for a time.

View in context

So they sounded, an' got sixty fathom. 'That's me,' sez Counahan.

View in context

The day after he had been received into the Lodge, Pierre was sitting at home reading a book and trying to fathom the significance of the Square, one side of which symbolized God, another moral things, a third physical things, and the fourth a combination of these.

View in context

The mysterious sun-sickness, which the experts of Australia could not fathom, still ripped and tore my tissues.

View in context

Ye flee unto your neighbour from yourselves, and would fain make a virtue thereof: but I fathom your "unselfishness."

View in context

"Sir, at this moment we have 3,508 fathoms of line out, and the ball which draws the sounding lead has not yet touched the bottom; for if so, it would have come up of itself."

View in context

"And now, sir, I leave you to your studies," added the Captain; "our course is E.N.E., our depth is twenty-six fathoms. Here are maps on a large scale by which you may follow it.