fathom

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

Examples 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 His brand’s retail expansion follows revenues edging past $250 million in 2022: a figure that no one except Porte Jacquemus might have fathomed a decade ago. Nathan Heller, Vogue, 17 Oct. 2024 Living without running water for a couple of months is hard to fathom, largely because our kids can’t go back to school without it. Graham Averill, Outside Online, 10 Oct. 2024 She’s never been to a Grateful Dead show and can’t fathom being an extreme fan of anything. Seija Rankin, The Hollywood Reporter, 23 Sep. 2024 Many couldn’t fathom how anyone could possibly think any differently. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for fathom 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fathom
Verb
  • Winter isn’t plumbing the moral abyss at the heart of violent men.
    Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2024
  • In other examples, brands—such as Chanel, Chopard, Czapek and Toledano & Chan—have plumbed their own artisanal capabilities to create pieces that lie at the intersection of art and science.
    Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 28 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • Beyond Meat continues to focus on cost-reduction initiatives and reviewing its global operations, which may include scaling back or discontinuing some operations in China.
    Quartz Bot, Quartz, 7 Nov. 2024
  • Gauthier, who was mayor during most of the period in which the city achieved its historic drop in violent crime, believes East Palo Alto’s collaborative approach to crime reduction could be scaled up district-wide.
    Ryan Macasero, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The district spans areas of North Oakland, including the Emeryville border, Rockridge and Temescal. Unger, a progressive champion of the city’s dominant labor unions, had been seen all election season as the likely successor to left-leaning Councilmember Dan Kalb.
    Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
  • However, the data spans from 2011 to Oct. 19, 2024.
    Michael Kan, PCMAG, 6 Nov. 2024

Podcast

Thesaurus Entries Near fathom

Cite this Entry

“Fathom.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fathom. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on 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!