fathom

IPA: fˈæðʌm

(chiefly nautical, historical, US) 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 metre outside American usage.
(nautical, US) A measure of distance to shore: the nearest point to shore at which the water depth is the value quoted.
(figuratively)
(chiefly in the plural) An unspecified depth.
(archaic or obsolete) Depth of insight; mental reach or scope.
(obsolete)
The 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.
Someone or something that is embraced.
(figuratively) Control, grasp.

(transitive)
(also figuratively) To measure the depth of (water); to take a sounding of; to sound.
(archaic or obsolete) To encircle (someone or something) with outstretched arms; specifically, to measure the circumference or (rare) length of something.
(figuratively) Often followed by out: to deeply understand (someone or something); to get to the bottom of.
(obsolete) To embrace (someone or something).
(intransitive)
To measure a depth; to sound.
(figuratively) To conduct an examination or inquiry; to investigate.

Examples of "fathom" in Sentences

But the effect was huge, almost too huge to fathom from a personal perspective.
The thing that's so fascinating and hard to fathom is how much he pushes himself to get it, to do it right.
What I find very hard to fathom is that the Clintons who lost fair and square continue to seek ways to undermine Obama.
A British diplomat out at San Francisco said that the reason Soviet foreign policy was so difficult to fathom is that it is twice as foreign as any other.
What I can not fathom is the support that progressive economists like Paul Krugman and Brad DeLong have shown for him throughout this crisis, and now for renomination.
What I fail to fathom is why accumulating capital in these small, family pools is in any way good for the economy and/or the GDP, measured as the number of economic exchanges.
Something else they can’t fathom is why more of the American people voted for an African-American male and fewer voted for a Caucasian male, and that over 40% of Obama’s votes came from Caucasians.
When we dried squash in the fall we strung the slices upon strings of twisted grass, each seven Indian fathoms long; an Indian fathom is the distance between a woman's two hands outstretched on either side.
There are enough loopholes to ensure Google still gets to choose its response based on “disproportionate technical effort” What I cannot fathom is why the Google, home of the brilliant minds insists on storing IP addresses.