Fathom

Noun

 * 1)  Grasp, envelopment, control.
 * 2)  A measure of length corresponding to the outstretched arms, standardised to six feet, now used mainly for measuring depths in seas or oceans.
 * 3)  Mental reach or scope; penetration; the extent of capacity; depth of thought or contrivance.

Verb

 * 1)  To encircle with outstretched arms, especially to take a measurement; to embrace.
 * 2)  To measure the depth of, take a sounding of.
 * 3)  To get to the bottom of; to manage to comprehend (a problem etc.).
 * I can't for the life of me fathom what this means.

Synonyms

 * fathom out, figure out, puzzle out, work out

Thesaurus
absorb, answer, appraise, appreciate, apprehend, ascertain, assay, assess, assimilate, be acquainted with, be apprised of, be aware of, be cognizant of, be conscious of, be conversant with, be informed, be with one, bottom, calculate, calibrate, caliper, cast the lead, catch, catch on, check a parameter, clear up, cognize, comprehend, compute, conceive, conceptualize, crack, debug, decipher, decode, delve into, determine, dial, dig, dig into, digest, discern, disentangle, divide, divine, do, dope, dope out, estimate, evaluate, explain, explore, figure out, find out, find the answer, find the solution, follow, gauge, get, get hold of, get right, get the drift, get the idea, get the picture, go into, graduate, grasp, guess, guess right, have, have information about, have it, have it taped, have knowledge of, hit it, indagate, interpret, investigate, ken, know, learn, look into, make a sounding, make out, master, measure, mensurate, mete, meter, open the lock, pace, peer into, penetrate, perceive, pierce, plumb, plumb the depths, plumb-line, poke into, possess, prehend, prize, probe, pry into, psych, psych out, puzzle out, quantify, quantize, rate, ravel, ravel out, read, realize, recognize, resolve, riddle, savvy, search into, search out, see, seize, seize the meaning, sense, sift, size, size up, sling the lead, solve, sort out, sound, span, step, survey, take, take a reading, take in, take soundings, triangulate, understand, undo, unlock, unravel, unriddle, unscramble, untangle, untwist, unweave, valuate, value, weigh, work, work out, wot, wot of

Etymology
From fathome:, fadome:, from  fæþm:, fæþme:, from, from. Cognate with fadem:, faem:,  vadem:, vaam:,  Faden:,  favn:,  famn:,  faðmur:.

Noun

 * Chinese: 一臂长(yi bei chang)
 * Czech: sáh
 * Danish: favn
 * Dutch: vadem
 * Erzya: сэль (selj)
 * Estonian:
 * Faroese: favnur
 * Finnish:
 * French:
 * German: ,
 * Hungarian:
 * Italian:


 * Japanese: hiro
 * Norwegian: favn
 * Polish: sążeń
 * Portuguese:
 * Russian: морская сажень
 * Sanskrit: vyama
 * Serbian: хват/hvat
 * Slovak: siaha
 * Slovene: seženj
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish:
 * Turkish:

Verb

 * Finnish:
 * German:
 * Russian: обхватить


 * Slovene:
 * Swedish: omfamna, famna om


 * Finnish:
 * German:, ,


 * Slovene:


 * Danish: ,
 * Finnish:
 * French: ,
 * Georgian: ჩასწვდება, სწვდება
 * German:, ,


 * Hungarian:, ,
 * Italian: ,
 * Slovene: dognati
 * Spanish: comprender

Related terms

 * fathomable
 * fathometer
 * fathomless
 * fathom out
 * unfathomable