fathom

• Nom désignant une unité de longueur utilisée principalement pour mesurer la profondeur de l'eau, égale à six pieds (environ 1,83 mètre).

A noun referring to a unit of length used primarily for measuring the depth of water, equal to six feet (approximately 1.83 meters).

1. Unit of depthB2formal

   A unit of length equal to six feet (1.83 meters), used primarily for measuring the depth of water.

   Brasse (unité de profondeur)

   • The submarine descended to a depth of 200 fathoms.
   • The captain measured the depth in fathoms.
   • The wreck lies at 30 fathoms below the surface.

• Verbe utilisé pour désigner l'action de comprendre ou de saisir profondément quelque chose, ainsi que pour mesurer la profondeur de l'eau.

A verb used to indicate the act of understanding or comprehending something deeply, or measuring the depth of water.

1. Understand deeplyC1formal

   To understand or comprehend something after much thought.

   Comprendre en profondeur

   • I cannot fathom why he made that decision.
   • She tried to fathom the meaning of the ancient text.
   • It is difficult to fathom the complexity of the universe.

   Synonymescomprehenddiscerndivinegrasppenetrateperceiveunderstandwork out

   Antonymesmisconstruemisperceivemisunderstand

2. Measure depthC2formal

   To measure the depth of water, typically using a sounding line.

   Sonder (mesurer la profondeur)

   • The sailors fathomed the depth of the channel.
   • They used a rope to fathom the river's depth.
   • The ocean was too deep to fathom with their equipment.

   Synonymesgaugemeasureplumbprobesound