fathom
(chiefly, nautical, historical, US) A man's armspan, generally reckoned to be six feet (about 1.8 metres).
Seen in the wild
Small town. Small minds. Can't fathom how a $9/mo tax increase could help the future of the community. Morons. I'm so mad.
I’m just gonna keep saying it- I cannot possibly fathom any thought process that would lead anyone from outside the US to think they should visit here right now for any reason. I’m including the athletes in this too,…
When I can fill it myself, I know I’m getting unsweetened with the desired amount of ice. I don’t know what it is, it’s like people can’t fathom wanting an unsweetened drink (that goes for seltzer too. (Do they think…
It's hard to fathom that 33% of Americans still worship that pig of a man. WTF is wrong with them!
Why feign ignorance of what I'm saying? Or is it because you're a fan of the terribly written nazi book that you cannot fathom graceful language?
Definitions
(chiefly, nautical, historical, US) A man's armspan, generally reckoned to be six feet (about 1.8 metres). Later used to measure the depth of water, but now generally replaced by the metre outside American usage.
After we'd rowed for an hour, we found ourselves stranded ten fathoms from shore.
“Back in the day, as a kid, I couldn't fathom how I'd live a life before I killed the lights.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Because cishet dudes find pain they cannot fathom hilarious”
— Bluesky· May 2026“When the F^ckity F*ck F#ck?!?! This is complete and utter nonsense. I can’t even fathom how even maga can be on board with this level of lies and grifting and gaslighting!!!😳🤬”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I just added some snazzy new badge ribbon charms to my ACGGoods Shop! These got so much love at LVLUP along with my ribbons, and now I've got 10 different designs for these! They're a handy way to display ribbons regardless of badge size. Grab one at acggoods.com/store/fathom...”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
(nautical, US) A measure of distance to shore: the nearest point to shore at which the water depth is the value quoted.
At fifty fathoms, the waters of the Southern Ocean are dark blue.
“Small town. Small minds. Can't fathom how a $9/mo tax increase could help the future of the community. Morons. I'm so mad.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I’m just gonna keep saying it- I cannot possibly fathom any thought process that would lead anyone from outside the US to think they should visit here right now for any reason. I’m including the athletes in this too, by the way.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“When I can fill it myself, I know I’m getting unsweetened with the desired amount of ice. I don’t know what it is, it’s like people can’t fathom wanting an unsweetened drink (that goes for seltzer too. (Do they think spite is the same?).”
— Bluesky· May 2026“It's hard to fathom that 33% of Americans still worship that pig of a man. WTF is wrong with them!”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Why feign ignorance of what I'm saying? Or is it because you're a fan of the terribly written nazi book that you cannot fathom graceful language?”
— Bluesky· May 2026
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Semantically related
- sound60%
To fathom or test; to ascertain the depth of water with a sounding line or other device.
- brace54%
(obsolete) A measurement of length, originally representing a person's outstretched arms.
- hauth51%
(India, obsolete) An obsolete measure, a cubit, equivalent to 18 inches or sometimes more.
- furlong50%
A unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile (220 yards, or 201.168 metres), now mainly used in measuring distances in farmland and horse racing.