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:
Silas Malafaia, who has millions of followers on social media, leads the Assembleia de Deus Vitória em Cristo headquartered in the lower middle-class neighbourhood of Penha in Rio de Janeiro.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
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
Marcy eliminates em dashes and sometimes swaps in sentences of his own, even though he knows he tends toward the run-on variety.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
The turnover ➡️ The easy deuce for Khamenia @DukeMBB makes em pay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
And I wonder whose idea this whole thing is, both of em or just Miss Hilly’s?
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
We gotta get all of ’em out of here!”
From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2026
“I noticed some of the things they’d been doing on stage and after thinking about it for a couple days I decided to cut ‘em loose,” Crockett wrote on social media at the time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
One flashed “Hook ‘em Horns,” the university’s proud hand signal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
With the boll weevil finishing off King Cotton, paper producers’ “plant ’em thick, cut ’em quick” approach spread.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
“Every game’s a winnable game. We take ’em one game at a time.”
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
"Proud of her for owning up to it and for wanting to do better," agreed Em.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
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
“I wish I were with you tonight, but Em is here.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 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
Em was sitting on the floor again, her back against the sink wall, her eyes on her knees, which were pulled up tight to her body.
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
Those who advocate for leniency on EM debt often fall into the trap of permitting caveats and special treatments that ultimately worsen the situation for developing countries.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
In pre-market trading Thursday TSMC’s U.S.-listed depositary receipts were 1.87% higher at $440 and the EM ETF was indicating a gain of 2.52% at 70.29.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026
EM earnings have been revised “meaningfully” higher, providing a tailwind and a way to diversify exposure to AI beyond the U.S., she said.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 22, 2026
EM had been brought up as a painter, and had served his time in that trade.
From Mother Meg or, The Story of Dickie's Attic by Catharine Shaw
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
I cannot thank you too em- phatically for the devoted care with which you have watched over me during our long and eventful voyage.
From The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan by Sir W. S. (William Schwenck) Gilbert
Arthur is in part a crafty composite of the writer E.M.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 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
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
E.C.U., for "The Esoteric Christian Union," founded by E.M. in 1891.
From The Story of Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland and of the new Gospel of Interpretation by Edward Maitland
With more experience, the rate could easily hit several thousand ems an hour, no matter the size of the type.
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
They will be able to share their experiences with other 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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