em
noun
the letter M, m.
em
1 American
[em]
/ ɛm /
noun
ems
plural
-
the letter M, m.
-
Also called mut, mutton. Printing.
-
the square of any size of type used as the unit of measurement for matter printed in that type size.
-
(originally) the portion of a line of type occupied by the letter M in type of the same size.
-
adjective
'em
2
American
[uhm]
/ əm /
pronoun
Informal.
Em
3
American
Symbol, Physical Chemistry.
EM
4
American
abbreviation
-
electronic mail.
-
electron microscope; electron microscopy.
-
end matched.
-
Engineer of Mines.
-
enlisted man; enlisted men.
em-
5
American
em-
6
American
E.M.
7
American
abbreviation
-
Earl Marshal.
-
Engineer of Mines.
em
1
British
/ ɛm /
noun
-
Also called: mutton. mut. the square of a body of any size of type, used as a unit of measurement
-
Also called: pica em. pica. a unit of measurement used in printing, equal to one sixth of an inch
'em
2
British
/ əm /
pronoun
em-
3
British
prefix
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of em1
First recorded in 1860–65
Origin of 'em2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English hem, Old English heom, dative and accusative plural of he 1
Vocabulary lists containing em
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Take em all,” the billionaire co-founder of Politico texted to the editor of his news startup, Notus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
And he admits it, naturally, with an em dash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
The news drew praise from public figures, including Jennifer Lopez, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Bruno Mars, who wrote on X, “Go get em Bad Bunny!”
From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2025
“I told em, ‘yeah I got couple of those.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2025
The Potomac boys are mitey hifalutin, some of em, and they and the Tennessee boys and us pure hated each other worse than we hated the rebs.
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
Pokémon fans have spent the past three decades trying to catch 'em all - and since the beginning this hunt has often taken place outside the home.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
One day, when people say “they don’t make ’em like they used to,” they will be saying it about “Industry.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
"I think let 'em play," Trump said in late April.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
In “Pinball Wizard,” the Who’s Roger Daltrey sings: “Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve played the silver ball / From Soho down to Brighton, I must’ve played ’em all.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
“My girl, when anybody asks that, I tell ’em the same thing,” SJ said.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
The experimental-video director with the white faux hawk I met at Go Get Em Tiger in East Hollywood.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Travel blogger Em says there's value to be had in Montenegro.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026
It left Bell as the most experienced of a pace group that includes Issy Wong and Lauren Filer, plus all-rounders Danielle Gibson, Em Arlott and Freya Kemp.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2026
L.A. beans though, either Counter Culture or Go Get Em Tiger would be my beans of choice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026
Em flopped back on the bed and laughed into Bridge’s pillow.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
The almost parabolic moves in parts of EM equities have been driven by earnings, as strong demand has collided with shortages and supply has struggled to catch up, he said in an interview.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
“We have done a quick review of the 10 largest fundamental EM peers. We can say we have more than 20 stocks in our portfolio that are not in our peer universe,” Cho said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
“Ultimately, we think the long-term outlook for gold will depend on the level of reserves EM central banks end up with, and the share of gold they target,” he said in written commentary.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
War has a way of upending even the best-laid investment plans, but the EM story isn’t over.
From Barron's ● Mar. 22, 2026
Fresh as the flower, That hath pour To wound my heart, And ease my smart, Of me, poor thief, In prison bound— EM.
From Fair Em by Shakespeare (spurious and doubtful works)
Font Bureau even did some customization for us—they provided us with wider em- and en-dashes for our home page headline font, for example, since our headlines are full of em-dashes.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2013
Dr. Allen Sinclair Will, 65, founder & director of Rutgers' Department of Journalism, onetime city editor of the Baltimore Sun; of cerebral em- bolism complicated by pneumonia; in Manhattan.
From Time Magazine Archive
In the future, more and more of them may em- ulate the experiments of Tanzania and Kenya.
From Time Magazine Archive
The forms en- and em- are of French origin.
From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton
Most of his children were from home; some seeking em- ployment; some were already settled in homes of their own.
From Our nig, or, sketches from the life of a free black, in a two-story white house, North Showing that slavery's shadows fall even there by Wilson, Harriet E.
When circumstance, and one’s own body, seem to conspire against you, one can, as E.M.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2025
She also starred with Olivier and Harry Hamlin in Cross’ adaptation of the Greek epic “Clash of the Titans” and a slew of film comedies before landing in the 1985 Merchant Ivory production of E.M.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2024
Soucy focuses on the highs of Merchant and Ivory’s films, which began in the 1960s with films like “The Householder” and “Shakespeare-Wallah,” and developed over the next two decades before their 1985 adaptation of E.M.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2024
By elevating universalism alongside diversity — she returns many times to E.M.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 10, 2023
B.O.A.I., for "The Bible's Own Account of Itself," by E.M.; second edition, 1905.
From The Story of Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland and of the new Gospel of Interpretation by Maitland, Edward
Linotype swifts, as praised in the Linotype Bulletin in 1921, could easily hit sustained rates above 10,000 ems an hour.
From Economist ● Mar. 30, 2018
Newsham said prompt treatment by fire and ems personnel at the scene helped to improve the boy’s prospects.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 10, 2017
Mr. Hanson believes that fewer than 1,500 highly productive individuals with specific skill sets will be necessary to create all the ems we need.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2016
Hanson doesn’t think that ems must necessarily live unhappy lives.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 9, 2016
From now I pays the union schedoole, the same bein' five cents a thousand ems more than former.
From Wolfville Days by Lewis, Alfred Henry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
