How far is a fathom at sea?
Definition (it’s) hard to fathom: (it’s) difficult to understand or comprehend to fathom (something): to understand, to figure out, to comprehend (something) a fathom: a measure of the depth of a part of the ocean
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to 6 feet (1.8288 metres), used especially for measuring the depth of water. There are two yards (6 feet) in an imperial fathom.
1 Fathom is equal to 1.8288 meters (m). To convert fathoms to meters, multiply the fathom value by 1.8288. For example, to find out how many meters in a fathom and a half, multiply 1.5 by 1.8288, that makes 2.7432 meters in a fathom and a half. 1 Fathom = 1.8288 Meters.
Definition of Fathom A US survey fathom (ftm) is a unit of length or distance in the U.S. customary system. It is equal to 2 yards, 6 feet or 1.829 meters. A yard (yd) is a unit of length in several different systems including United States customary units, Imperial units and the former English units.
The “100-Fathom Curve” A quirk of underwater topography, the famed “100-fathom curve” refers to the area along the Gulf of Mexico’s coastline where it drops off dramatically. Six hundred feet, to be exact. And there’s no port closer to the deep water action than Destin.
To fathom something is to understand it thoroughly, and is usually used in the negative, as in “I can’t fathom why he doesn’t want to go along with us.” To understand something thoroughly is “to get to the bottom of it.”
As verbs the difference between comprehend and fathom is that comprehend is while fathom is (archaic) to encircle with outstretched arms, especially to take a measurement; to embrace.
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to 6 feet (1.8288 m), used especially for measuring the depth of water. Historically, however, it is the most frequently employed maritime measure of depth in the English-speaking world.
A cable length or length of cable is a nautical unit of measure equal to one tenth of a nautical mile or approximately 100 fathoms. Due to anachronisms and varying techniques of measurement, a cable length can be anywhere from 169 to 220 metres, depending on the standard used.
: a usually sinuous line on a nautical chart joining all points having the same depth of water and thereby indicating the contour of the ocean floor.
As time went by ‘to fathom’ began to mean ‘to get to the bottom of’ or ‘to take soundings about’. This probably derives from the most commonly believed derivation of ‘fathoming out’, which is the measuring of the depth of water beneath a ship by use of a weight fixed to a rope marked out in fathoms.
6 feet
Fathom, old English measure of length, now standardized at 6 feet (1.83 metre), which has long been used as a nautical unit of depth.
