em-

¹ American  

1. variant of en- before b, p, and sometimes m:

   embalm.

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em- ² American  

1. variant of en- before b, m, p, ph:

   embolism, emphasis.

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em ³ American  

[em] / ɛm /

noun

plural

ems

1. the letter M, m.

2. Also called mut, mutton.  Printing.

   1. the square of any size of type used as the unit of measurement for matter printed in that type size.

   2. (originally) the portion of a line of type occupied by the letter M in type of the same size.

3. em pica.

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adjective

1. Printing. having the area of an em quad or the length of an em dash.

'em ⁴ American  

[uhm] / əm /

pronoun

Informal.

1. them.

   Put 'em down there.

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Em ⁵ American  

Symbol, Physical Chemistry.

1. emanation.

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EM ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. electromagnetic.

2. electromotive.

3. electronic mail.

4. electron microscope; electron microscopy.

5. end matched.

6. Engineer of Mines.

7. enlisted man; enlisted men.

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E.M. ⁷ American  

abbreviation

1. Earl Marshal.

2. Engineer of Mines.

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em ¹ British  

/ ɛm /

noun

1. Also called: mutton.   mut.  the square of a body of any size of type, used as a unit of measurement

2. Also called: pica em.   pica.  a unit of measurement used in printing, equal to one sixth of an inch

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'em ² British  

/ əm /

pronoun

1. an informal variant of them

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em- ³ British  

prefix

1. before b, m, and p, a variant of en- 1 en- 2

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Etymology

Origin of em³

First recorded in 1860–65

Origin of 'em⁴

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English hem, Old English heom, dative and accusative plural of he ¹

Example Sentences

“It’s making the choice. There’s shortcuts you can take or you can do the hard thing and you can make the second effort or you can sprint back or you can’t. It’s just a choice and there’s a million choices in a game, and you’re very likely not gonna make every choice correctly. But can you make the vast majority of ‘em correctly?

From Los Angeles Times

“You have to pack ’em up, wrap ’em up.”

From Los Angeles Times

Paul McCartney is up next, thanking the fans for all of the packages that have been sent to the band, but specifically mentioning, “Somebody asked us if we still like jelly babies. Well, we used to like ’em, in fact, we loved ’em.

From Salon

Ever since then, we’ve been getting ’em in boxes, packets and crates.

From Salon

Vance positioned himself on Team “Let ’Em Cook.”

From Slate