Meaning of "fathom" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD FATHOM

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

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF FATHOM

ˈfæðəm

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF FATHOM

Fathom is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb fathom in English.

WHAT DOES FATHOM MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Fathom

A fathom = 6 feet or 1.8288 metres, is a unit of length in the old imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water. There are two yards in an imperial fathom. Originally based on the distance between a man's outstretched arms, the size of a fathom has varied slightly depending on whether it was defined as a thousandth of an nautical mile or as a multiple of the imperial yard. Formerly, the term was used for any of several units of length varying around 5–5 1⁄2 feet. The name derives from the Old English word fæðm, corresponding to the old Frisian word "fadem" meaning embracing arms or a pair of outstretched arms. In Middle English it was fathme. A cable length, based on the length of a ship's cable, has been variously reckoned as equal to 100 or 120 fathoms. At one time, a quarter meant one-fourth of a fathom. Abbreviations: ftm, f, fath, fm, fth, fthm.

Definition of fathom in the English dictionary

The first definition of fathom in the dictionary is a unit of length equal to six feet, used to measure depths of water. Other definition of fathom is a unit of volume usually equal to six cubic feet, used in measuring ore bodies. Fathom is also a unit of volume equal to six cubic feet, used for measuring timber.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO FATHOM

PRESENT

Present

I fathom

you fathom

he/she/it fathoms

we fathom

you fathom

they fathom

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

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

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I fathomed

you fathomed

he/she/it fathomed

we fathomed

you fathomed

they 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

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

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will fathom

you will fathom

he/she/it will fathom

we will fathom

you will fathom

they will fathom

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

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 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

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would fathom

you would fathom

he/she/it would fathom

we would fathom

you would fathom

they would fathom

Conditional continuous

I would be fathoming

you would be fathoming

he/she/it would be fathoming

we would be fathoming

you would be fathoming

they would be fathoming

Conditional perfect

I would have fathom

you would have fathom

he/she/it would have fathom

we would have fathom

you would have fathom

they would have fathom

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been fathoming

you would have been fathoming

he/she/it would have been fathoming

we would have been fathoming

you would have been fathoming

they would have been fathoming

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you fathom
we let´s fathom
you fathom

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to fathom

Past participle

fathomed

Present Participle

fathoming

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «FATHOM»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «fathom» and belong to the same grammatical category.

comprehend · estimate · gauge · get to the bottom of · grasp · interpret · measure · penetrate · plumb · probe · sound · understand

TRANSLATION OF FATHOM

Find out the translation of fathom to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of fathom from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «fathom» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 英寻
• Translator English - Spanish: braza
• English: fathom
• Translator English - Hindi: थाह
• Translator English - Arabic: القامة
• Translator English - Russian: сажень
• Translator English - Portuguese: braça
• Translator English - Bengali: ব্যাম
• Translator English - French: brasse
• Translator English - Malay: Fathom
• Translator English - German: Faden
• Translator English - Japanese: >ひろ
• Translator English - Korean: >패돔 (1.8미터)
• Translator English - Javanese: Fathom
• Translator English - Vietnamese: ôm chặt
• Translator English - Tamil: ஆழத்தை
• Translator English - Marathi: कल्पना
• Translator English - Turkish: kulaç
• Translator English - Italian: braccio
• Translator English - Polish: Fathom
• Translator English - Ukrainian: сажень
• Translator English - Romanian: stânjen
• Translator English - Greek: όργια
• Translator English - Afrikaans: peil
• Translator English - Swedish: fathom
• Translator English - Norwegian: Fathom

10 QUOTES WITH «FATHOM»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word fathom.

1

Piers Anthony

All things make sense; you just have to fathom how they make sense.

2

Richard H. Baker

For most people, we often marvel at the beauty of a sunrise or the magnificence of a full moon, but it is impossible to fathom the magnitude of the universe that surrounds us.

3

Bryan Batt

I think there is this steely strength beneath this beautiful veneer that a lot of women possess. I can't fathom or understand it.

4

Kate Bernheimer

It wasn't until I was an adult reader that I began to fathom the influence of fairy tales on writers I was in love with over the years, from Louisa May Alcott to Bernard Malamud to John Cheever to Anne Frank to Joy Williams.

5

Bob Brown

I think I could have been quite difficult to fathom as a youngster, this kid who didn't talk about himself very much.

6

Chris Carter

Even if I see 300 'X-Files' fans together, I can't fathom - I cannot imagine - the audience itself. All I think about is the show and all I think about is why I like it and why I like to write it and why I like the characters and what I have to say through them.

7

Fanny Crosby

Can ye fathom the ocean, dark and deep, where the mighty waves and the grandeur sweep?

8

John Cusack

There are some good people. But a good chunk of them will lie for no reason at all - it'll be ten o'clock and they'll tell you it's nine. You're looking at the clock and you can't even fathom why they're lying. They just lie because that's what they do.

9

William Dampier

The 6th of August in the morning we saw an opening in the land and we ran into it, and anchored in 7 and a half fathom water, 2 miles from the shore, clean sand.

10

William Dampier

In the road ships must ride in 30, 40, or 50 fathom water, not above half a mile from the shore at farthest: and if there are many ships they must ride close one by another.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «FATHOM»

Discover the use of fathom in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to fathom and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Deep Fathom LP

And it will forever alter a world that's already racing toward its own destruction. See why the Providence Journal-Bulletin calls James Rollins "the modern master of the action thriller" with this classic Rollins tale.

James Rollins, 2011

Fathom

The deadly tides of change rise above the surface in the exciting third chapter of the best-selling action/adventure series, Fathom!

‎2009

Full Fathom Five: A Daughter's Search

Mary Lee Coe Fowler was a posthumous child, born after her father, a submarine skipper in the Pacific, was lost at sea in 1943.

Mary Lee Coe Fowler, 2008

Fathom

Tommy Conklin a nineteen-year-old scuba enthusiast joins an American underwater expedition based in Honduras.

Michael Gaff, 2006

Fathom

“I can’t fathom them, and neither can you.” The ageless water witch Arahab has been scheming for eons, gathering the means to awaken the great Leviathan.

Cherie Priest, 2008

Workshop Statistics: Discovery with Data and Fathom

WORKSHOP STATISTICS: DISCOVERY WITH DATA AND FATHOM integrates instructions specific to Fathom while retaining all the distinctive features of the original text.

Allan J. Rossman, Beth L. Chance, Robin H. Lock, 2001

Fathom

In 'Fathom', Jenny Lewis presents a collection of warm, personal poems about a woman's experience of life and love.

Jenny Lewis, 2007

Dark Fathom

Beck Easton, a secret member of a paramilitary wing of the National Security Agency, is ready to retire, but his plans quickly change when a simple assignment--to follow the trail of an Al-Qaeda operative--leads him to a tangled thread of ...

Tom Morrisey, 2005

The Fathom Guide for The Practice of Statistics

Written by the original curriculum developer for Fathom Dynamic Data™ Software, and author of Fifty Fathoms, the Guide serves as both a basic introduction to Fathom and a guide for using this software with TPS 3e.

Tim Erickson, 2006

The Forty Fathom Bank and Other Stories

PRAISE FOR The Forty Fathom Bank “The Forty Fathom Bank is a beautiful piece of writing. The reader is caught between the lyricism of the prose, the beauty of the sea, and the story of man's greed. No one who reads this book will ever forget  ...

Les Galloway, 2013

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «FATHOM»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term fathom is used in the context of the following news items.

Football fans can't fathom how Alan Pardew convinced Yohan …

PSG midfielder Yohan Cabaye presumably could have moved to a host of clubs when he expressed a desire to leave Paris, but he has ended up reuniting with ... «SportsJOE, Jul 15»

Carnival Is Taking Its Social Impact Cruises To Cuba

Carnival will be the first cruise line to sail to Cuban shores when the line launches in May 2016 as part of its new fathom brand of “social impact ... «PRNewser, Jul 15»

Hipcamp's Guide to Camping Out West

By Julie Murrell for Fathom | Nature-lovers, outdoorsmen and novice campers alike will appreciate Hipcamp's discovery platform for awesome ... «Huffington Post, Jul 15»

Carnival Corp.'s fathom Line to Offer Volunteer Cruises in Cuba

(8:30 a.m. EDT) -- Carnival Corporation & plc's newest cruise line -- fathom, which specializes in voluntourism -- will offer cruises to Cuba ... «Cruise Critic, Jul 15»

'Social travel' cruise brand Fathom to serve Cuba

Carnival Corporation's new social travel brand Fathom is to operate to Cuba from next May. The announcement came as the US cruise giant ... «Travel Weekly UK, Jul 15»

Rifftrax takes aim at 'Sharknado 2' with Live Fathom Event on Thursday

SyFy's Sharknado was instantly a classic “bad film” as it was released on the network in 2013, and became an obvious target for the riffing team ... «The Global Dispatch, Jul 15»

Fathom is Shelter Island's tap house and bistro on the bay

You could say Dennis Borlek has been preparing to own and run Fathom Bistro, Bait and Tackle on Shelter Island his whole life. A San Diego ... «San Diego Community Newspaper Group, Jul 15»

It's hard to fathom socialism's appeal

With the number of Republican presidential candidates now over a dozen and rising, perhaps we should step back and look at the Democratic ... «BlueRidgeNow.com, Jul 15»

Janesville Gazette: Hard to fathom Bo Ryan's departure

It's just that it's hard to fathom a day when you're not roaming the sidelines, raging and staring at an official like he just shot your mother. With so ... «Madison.com, Jul 15»

Seityasen Singh: I cannot fathom my journey so far

I still cannot fathom my journey," added the attacking midfielder to the ISL. Seityasen Singh also feels that the ISL will improve the standard of ... «Goal.com, Jun 15»