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Did fathom Always Refer to a Measurement?
Fathom comes from the Old English word fæthm, meaning "outstretched arms." The noun fathom, which now commonly refers to a measure (especially of depth) of six feet, was originally used for the distance, fingertip to fingertip, created by stretching one's arms straight out from the sides of the body. In one of its earliest uses, the verb fathom was a synonym of our modern embrace: to fathom someone was to encircle the person with your arms. By the 1600s fathom had taken to the seas, with the verb being used to mean "to measure by a sounding line." At the same time, the verb also developed senses synonymous with probe and investigate, and it is now frequently used to refer to the act of getting to the bottom of something, figuratively speaking.
Examples of fathom in a Sentence
Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2025
This offered the benefit of drilling through less rock, but came with the challenge of operating a drill rig from a ship positioned above several thousand fathoms of open ocean.
—David Szondy
june 08, New Atlas, 8 June 2025
Big Think, 28 Oct. 2025
Speaking for the Southern California location, Selman can't even fathom what could possibly replace Springfield.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fathom
Cite this Entry
“Fathom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fathom. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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fathom
1 of 2 noun
fathom
2 of 2 verb
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