fathom
verb(usually in negative sentences )通常用于否定句 to understand or find an explanation for something 理解;彻底了解;弄清真相 - fathom somebody/something (out)
She knew he was angry with her, for some reason she couldn't fathom. 她知道他生她的气,出于某种她无法理解的原因。 It is hard to fathom the pain felt at the death of a child. 丧子之痛是难以体会的。 - fathom (out) what, where, etc…
He couldn't fathom out what the man could possibly mean. 他弄不清这个男人的意思。
Oxford Collocations DictionaryFathom is used with these nouns as the object:- mystery
Word OriginOld English fæthm, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vadem, vaam and German Faden ‘six feet’. The original sense was ‘something which embraces’, (plural) ‘the outstretched arms’; hence, a unit of measurement based on the span of the outstretched arms, later standardized to six feet.- fathom somebody/something (out)