The fathom is a unit of length. It is used especially when talking about operating ships, to measure the depth of water. It is equal to two yards. The distance between a man's outstreched arms is about a fathom. By this definition, a statute mile is 880 fathoms long. According to the directive 80/181/EWG, one fathom is 1,829 meters long. One fathom is equal to:
In 1959 the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom defined the length of the international yard to be exactly 0.9144 metre. With the adoption of the metric SI system the use of fathoms declined.
