em

¹ 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 ² American  

[uhm] / əm /

pronoun

Informal.

1. them.

   Put 'em down there.

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Em ³ American  

Symbol, Physical Chemistry.

1. emanation.

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EM ⁴ 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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em- ⁵ American  

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

   embalm.

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em- ⁶ American  

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

   embolism, emphasis.

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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 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

Example Sentences

“If God could use these kind of broken dreams, broken vessels, and turn ’em into something really great,” says Engelhardt, “well, maybe God could use me too.”

From Los Angeles Times

I handed her that there and was like, ‘Here you go. Go get ‘em.’”

From Los Angeles Times

“Did you bring the rafts? Are you ready to play? Get ’em ready and get ’em in so we can play, Ida B,” said the brook, ignoring my question.

From Literature

It wasn’t long till we heard ’em coming.

From Literature

“It’s all about the team with those guys, and guys respect that and guys go out there and play hard for ‘em knowing they’re capable of taking games over and winning games in big moments.”

From Los Angeles Times