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Fathom in Scrabble and Meaning

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What does fathom mean? Is fathom a Scrabble word?

How many points in Scrabble is fathom worth? fathom how many points in Words With Friends? What does fathom mean? Get all these answers on this page.

Scrabble® and Words with Friends® points for fathom

See how to calculate how many points for fathom.

Is fathom a Scrabble word?

Yes. The word fathom is a Scrabble US word. The word fathom is worth 14 points in Scrabble:

F4A1T1H4O1M3

Is fathom a Scrabble UK word?

Yes. The word fathom is a Scrabble UK word and has 14 points:

F4A1T1H4O1M3

Is fathom a Words With Friends word?

Yes. The word fathom is a Words With Friends word. The word fathom is worth 14 points in Words With Friends (WWF):

F4A1T1H3O1M4

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6-letter words (1 found)

FATHOM,

4-letter words (8 found)

ATOM,FOAM,HAFT,HOMA,MATH,MOAT,MOTH,OATH,

3-letter words (23 found)

AFT,FAH,FAT,FOH,HAM,HAO,HAT,HOA,HOM,HOT,MAT,MHO,MOA,MOT,OAF,OAT,OFT,OHM,OMA,TAM,TAO,THO,TOM,

2-letter words (14 found)

AH,AM,AT,FA,HA,HM,HO,MA,MO,OF,OH,OM,TA,TO,

You can make 46 words from fathom according to the Scrabble US and Canada dictionary.

Definitions and meaning of fathom

fathom

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfað(ə)m/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈfæðəm/
  • (dialectal, obsolete) IPA(key): /ˈfædəm/
  • Hyphenation: fa‧thom

Etymology 1

From Middle English fathome, fadom, fadme (“unit of length of about six feet; depth of six feet for nautical soundings; (loosely) cubit; ell”) [and other forms], from Old English fæþm, fæþme (“encircling or outstretched arms, bosom, embrace; envelopment; control, grasp, power; fathom (unit of measurement); cubit”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *faþm (“outstretched arms, embrace; fathom (unit of measurement)”), from Proto-Germanic *faþmaz (“outstretched arms, embrace; fathom (unit of measurement)”), from Proto-Indo-European *pet-, *peth₂- (“to spread out; to fly”).

Noun

fathom (plural fathoms)

  1. (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.
  2. (nautical, US) A measure of distance to shore: the nearest point to shore at which the water depth is the value quoted.
  3. (figuratively)
    1. (chiefly in the plural) An unspecified depth.
    2. (archaic or obsolete) Depth of insight; mental reach or scope.
  4. (obsolete)
    1. 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.
    2. Someone or something that is embraced.
    3. (figuratively) Control, grasp.
Usage notes

At sea, the fathom is exclusively a measure of water depth. Therefore, a boat 100 fathoms offshore is not 600 feet from the shore, but rather at the nearest point to shore where the water depth is 600 feet.

Synonyms
  • (unit of length): stade; toise (some contexts); brace (some contexts); braza, estadio (Spanish contexts); orguia (Greek contexts)
Derived terms
  • fathometer
Translations
See also
  • deep six

Etymology 2

From Middle English fathmen, fadmen (“to encircle (something) with the arms, embrace; to feel, grope; to measure by the ell (or perhaps the fathom)”) [and other forms], from Old English fæðmian, from Proto-Germanic *faþmōjan, from *faþm (“outstretched arms, embrace; fathom (unit of measurement)”): see further at etymology 1.

Verb

fathom (third-person singular simple present fathoms, present participle fathoming, simple past and past participle fathomed)

  1. (transitive)
    1. (also figuratively) To measure the depth of (water); to take a sounding of; to sound.
    2. (archaic or obsolete) To encircle (someone or something) with outstretched arms; specifically, to measure the circumference or (rare) length of something.
    3. (figuratively) Often followed by out: to deeply understand (someone or something); to get to the bottom of.
      Synonyms: figure out, puzzle out, work out
      Coordinate term: grok
    4. (obsolete) To embrace (someone or something).
  2. (intransitive)
    1. To measure a depth; to sound.
    2. (figuratively) To conduct an examination or inquiry; to investigate.
Derived terms
Translations

References

Further reading

  • fathom on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
  • fathom (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
  • “fathom”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
  • “fathom”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
  • “fathom”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Source: wiktionary.org