fathom
Six feet nautically
Fathom is a unit of water depth equal to six feet, used in nautical contexts: The harbor was only three fathoms deep.
More commonly, fathom means to understand or comprehend something difficult or mysterious: I can't fathom why she would do that.
The connection is probing depths—whether of water or meaning.
The negative is especially common: unfathomable, I couldn't fathom it.
Grasp the meaning
- graspSeize or understand
- perceiveBecome conscious of
- discernPerceive with careful attention
- comprehendTo fully understand
conceive · apprehend · realize · interpret · absorb · assimilate · intuit · make sense of
Ocean's solid base
- soundingDepth measurement technique
- plumbExactly vertical or true
- deepFar from surface
- abyssImmeasurably profound depth
ocean · underwater · diving · sonar · bathymetry · submersible · trench · leagues
- lengthMeasure of extent
- unitIndividual part or measure
- spanDistance between endpoints
- gaugeStandard of measurement
dimensions · scale · extent · magnitude · yards · meters · proportion · breadth
Secures ships to seabed
- shipSeagoing transport vessel
- sailorSeafaring crew member
- knotTied rope fastening
- chartData shown visually
compass · voyage · seafaring · mariner · rigging · helm · keel · starboard
Something hard to fathom
- incomprehensibleImpossible to understand
- inscrutableImpossible to understand
- impenetrableImpossible to pass through
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
obscure · cryptic · inexplicable · elusive · baffling · perplexing · unknowable · mysterious
understand
Grasp the meaning
comprehend · conceive · apprehend · realize · interpret · absorb · assimilate · intuit · make sense of · get
seafloor
Ocean's solid base
abyss · ocean · underwater · diving · sonar · bathymetry · submersible · trench · leagues · bottom
six feet
gauge · dimensions · scale · extent · magnitude · yards · meters · proportion · breadth · survey
anchor
Secures ships to seabed
chart · compass · voyage · seafaring · mariner · rigging · helm · keel · starboard · portside
enigma
Something hard to fathom
- incomprehensibleImpossible to understand
- inscrutableImpossible to understand
- impenetrableImpossible to pass through
puzzle · obscure · cryptic · inexplicable · elusive · baffling · perplexing · unknowable · mysterious · arcane
fathommisunderstand
Grasp incorrectly
miscomprehend · miss · misinterpret · misconstrue · miss the point
unfathomable, fathomless, fathomed, fathoms, fathoming, fathomable, unfathomed