em
noun
the letter M, m.
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e-m-p.
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:
That makes sense; em dashes are easy to spot, and I’ve consciously used them less as the internet has flooded with them.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
The turnover ➡️ The easy deuce for Khamenia @DukeMBB makes em pay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
“The em dash is now a GPT-ism and is not advisable unless you want people to think your writing is the output of a LLM,” wrote a user named energy123 on Hacker News.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
Most of all we should use em dashes because they are a declaration of humanity in the face of AI’s onslaught.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
Them prisoners don’t get but one out a ten things sent to em cause the lady guards take it for theyselves.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
We gotta get all of ’em out of here!”
From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2026
One flashed “Hook ‘em Horns,” the university’s proud hand signal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
“I don’t think any of ‘em are trying hard enough,” she said.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
“And I wouldn’t be surprised to ‘em him back again.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
“You always do this, Odilia. You always think you know what you’re talking about, but you don’t. You’re just a big fat bully who doesn’t know anything. Count ’em!
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Travel blogger Em says there's value to be had in Montenegro.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026
“Let God Sort Em Out” came 16 years after their last release, which had marked the end of the Virginia Beach-born group amid a “come to God” moment for Malice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
Much like “Let God Sort Em Out,” the Clipse’s performance further solidified why they’ve been in the game for more than 20 years and why they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 2025
Dr Em May Armstrong, a plant researcher, says the key is finding the balance between resting more and becoming too lethargic.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025
The yawn was real: Em had texted Bridge and Tab steadily until one-thirty in the morning.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
“Neither bonds nor EM equities are a diversifier from the dominant ‘AI Revolution’ theme,” Emanuel said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
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
“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
EM Luminous intensity of a lamp, in candles. c.p.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 595, May 28, 1887 by Various
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
In the future, more and more of them may em- ulate the experiments of Tanzania and Kenya.
From Time Magazine Archive
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
The forms en- and em- are of French origin.
From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton
Erring human mind-forces can work only evil under whatever name or pretence they are em- 186:9 ployed; for Spirit and matter, good and evil, light and darkness, cannot mingle.
From Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy
Arthur is in part a crafty composite of the writer E.M.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2025
When circumstance, and one’s own body, seem to conspire against you, one can, as E.M.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2025
Happy endings in queer cinema can be credited to "Maurice," the 1987 romance drama based on E.M.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2023
Postwar Suffolk was something of a rural retreat for London writers and artists, and Mr. Blythe soon found himself in the orbit of luminaries like the novelists E.M.
From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 2023
Statement, E.C.U., for "The New Gospel of Interpretation; being an Abstract of the Doctrine and Statement of the Objects of the Esoteric Christian Union," by E.M.; revised and enlarged edition, 1892.
From The Story of Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland and of the new Gospel of Interpretation by Edward Maitland
That is blindingly fast when the usual working pace was 700 to 1,000 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
That is if any of us are lucky or unlucky enough to become ems.
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
He courted pretty Emma Grey, One of earth's living gems— The sweetest Em, he used to say, Among a thousand "ems."
From Prairie Farmer, Vol. 56: No. 3, January 19, 1884. A Weekly Journal for the Farm, Orchard and Fireside by Various
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