fathoming

present participle of fathom
as in plumbing
to measure the depth of (as a body of water) typically with a weighted line the pilot had to continually fathom the river, which drought conditions had lowered to unprecedented levels

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fathoming For starters, even though federal law requires hospitals to list their prices publicly, fathoming these files is almost impossible. — Rufina Chow, NBC news, 3 Apr. 2026 However, Chiefs veteran center Creed Humphrey says his team won't be listening to those, or even fathoming the thought of panicking. — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 18 Nov. 2025 Advertisement Svetlana’s optimistic pretend normalcy and Lyudmila’s practical approach to medication point to impossibility of fathoming the many crushing consequences of the Ukraine crisis. — Nina Khrushcheva, Time, 3 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fathoming
Verb
  • There is no reading of the statute under which enforcing the Building Code includes plumbing a restaurant’s kitchen.
    — Fabiola Stuyvesant, Sun Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Capital Engineering, a mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering firm the district has worked with in the past, has been tapped to help assess the district’s losses and develop a plan for remedying the issue.
    — Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The legislation, which would have begun scaling back licenses for the occupation, was stalled in 2025.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026
  • This is one shape of [a] research project of systematizing and scaling up searching for useful new tools in large databases and DNA sequences.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fathoming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fathoming. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!