ahem

[ pronounced with a small scraping sound accompanied or followed by a nasal; spelling pronunciation uh-hem, hem ]

/ pronounced with a small scraping sound accompanied or followed by a nasal; spelling pronunciation əˈhɛm, hɛm /

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interjection

(an utterance similar to the sound of clearing one's throat, used to attract attention, express doubt or a mild warning, etc.)

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

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Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

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Words nearby ahem

AHE, ahead, ahead of one's time, ahead of the game, ahead of time, ahem, ahemeral, Ahern, AHHA, ahi, Ahidjo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ahem in a sentence

One might say (ahem) that in Beijing on Wednesday the atmospherics were everything.
Obama and Xi Jinping Say They’ll Work Together to Save Environment|Ben Leung|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
US Airways inadvertently tweeted an—ahem—racy photo involving a lady and a toy plane.
Plane-Related Incidents Reach New Level of Weird|Rachel Hochhauser|April 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The singer beat (ahem) charges of a woman claiming he injured her in a nightclub due to insufficient evidence.
Bryan Cranston As Lex Luthor, Madonna Tops Highest Paid Celebs List|Culture Team|August 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
One, I had no idea cute little ducks were such violent (ahem) pricks.
Yes, We Should Study Duck Penises|Michael Tomasky|March 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST

A full spread (ahem) of his work is now in a show at Invisible-Exports gallery in New York.
Bob Mizer's Gay Vision|Blake Gopnik|January 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
You've got to go on, and the more you agree—ahem—the less you'll disagree, see?
The Varmint|Owen Johnson
Her politics, system of education, customs, and arts will be of—ahem!
Humour of the North|Lawrence J. Burpee
Before I had time to make any remark, however, upon so singular a circumstance, he interrupted me with a second "ahem!"
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe|Edgar Allan Poe
He commenced once more, with an ahem, which gave me a better inkling than frankness of what bothered him.
Richard Carvel, Complete|Winston Churchill
"Well, I'm going to set up with her to-night," said Seffy again, with a huge ahem.
The Wit and Humor of America, Volume II. (of X.)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for ahem

ahem

/ (əˈhɛm) /

interjection

a clearing of the throat, used to attract attention, express doubt, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ahem

Words nearby ahem

Words related to ahem

How to use ahem in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ahem