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fathom

fa·thom/ˈfæðəm/noun, verb

fathom is spelled F-A-T-H-O-M: 6 letters and 2 syllables (fa·thom). It appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, fathom means “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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of fathom is fathoms.

How many letters and syllables are in fathom?

Letters6: F-A-T-H-O-M
Syllables2: fa·thom
In writing1.8 times per million words; the 20,906th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is fathom?

Fathom appears 1.8 times per million words in written English, the 20,906th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce fathom?

  • UK /ˈfað(ə)m/
  • US /ˈfæðəm/
  • /ˈfædəm/

Fathom has 2 syllables, split fa·thom in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-fathom.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of fathom

  • fathoms plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • fathoming participle, present
  • fathomed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does fathom mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    USA 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.

  2. 2

    USAn internationally standardized version of this unit, the international fathom (= 1.8288 metres = 6 feet).

  3. 3

    USA measure of distance to shore: the nearest point to shore at which the water depth is the value quoted.

    After we'd rowed for an hour, we found ourselves stranded ten fathoms from shore.

  4. 4

    An unspecified depth.

  5. 5

    archaicobsoleteDepth of insight; mental reach or scope.

  6. 6

    obsoleteThe act of stretching out one's arms away from the sides of the torso so that they make a straight line perpendicular to the body.

  7. 7

    obsoleteSomeone or something that is embraced.

  8. 8

    obsoleteControl, grasp.

verb

  1. 1

    To measure the depth of (water); to take a sounding of; to sound.

  2. 2

    archaicobsoleteTo encircle (someone or something) with outstretched arms; specifically, to measure the circumference or (rare) length of something.

  3. 3

    Often followed by out: to deeply understand (someone or something); to get to the bottom of.

    I can’t for the life of me fathom what this means.

  4. 4

    obsoleteTo embrace (someone or something).

  5. 5

    To measure a depth; to sound.

  6. 6

    To conduct an examination or inquiry; to investigate.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate fathom?

Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of fathom: fath, fth.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Fathom in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchbrasse, toise (measure of six feet – see also brace, toise), comprendre, saisir, s'imaginer (to measure the depth of (water) – see also sound)
GermanFaden, Klafter (measure of six feet – see also brace, toise), ausloten, loten, sondieren (to measure the depth of (water) – see also sound), umarmen (to encircle (someone or something) with…)
Portuguesebraça (measure of six feet – see also brace, toise), sondar (to measure the depth of (water) – see also sound), compreender (to deeply understand (someone or something))
Spanishbraza (measure of six feet – see also brace, toise), sondar, sondear, fondear, hondear, asondar (to measure the depth of (water) – see also sound)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does fathom come from?

From Middle English fathome, fadom, fadme (“unit of length of about six feet; depth of six feet for nautical soundings; (loosely) cubit; ell”) [and other forms], from Old English fæþm, fæþme (“encircling or outstretched arms, bosom, embrace; envelopment; control, grasp, power; fathom (unit of measurement); cubit”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *faþm (“outstretched arms, embrace; fathom (unit of measurement)”), from Proto-Germanic *faþmaz (“outstretched arms, embrace; fathom (unit of measurement)”), from Proto-Indo-European *pet-, *peth₂- (“to spread out; to fly”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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