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:
The turnover ➡️ The easy deuce for Khamenia @DukeMBB makes em pay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
Because I, a professional writer, love—love—love—an em dash.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
In my writing, ChatGPT tells me I use 11 em dashes every 1,000 words.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
The news drew praise from public figures, including Jennifer Lopez, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Bruno Mars, who wrote on X, “Go get em Bad Bunny!”
From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2025
Even though I know Leroy Junior want a stay, he give em a look and they all disappear, quiet, quick.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
So we’ll find ’em in the end, I promise you.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
Pokémon fans have spent the past three decades trying to catch 'em all - and since the beginning this hunt has often taken place outside the home.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
“And I’m like, ‘Cool, great, let ‘em talk, there’s no profanity anywhere,’ ” Hardin said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
"I think let 'em play," Trump said in late April.
From Barron's ● May 18, 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
“I wish I were with you tonight, but Em is here.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 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
England internationals Em Arlott, Amy Jones, Danielle Gibson, Sarah Glenn and Linsey Smith are among the women's players to enter the draft at the £50,000 reserve price.
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
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
He stopped and held up one clenched hand for a fist bump, which Em executed flawlessly.
From "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead
Despite the sharp rally in EM stocks over the past year and a half, valuations have actually come down, he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 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
“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
Some parts of EM, however, could act as a hedge against broader market weakness.
From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026
Never mind, EM," she lisped, "everything is bound to come out right.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 99, November 8, 1890 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
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
Soucy focuses on the highs of Merchant and Ivory’s films, which began in the 1960s with films like “The Householder” and “Shakespeare-Wallah,” and developed over the next two decades before their 1985 adaptation of E.M.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2024
Throughout the ’80s Nachume was a frequent exhibitor at two Manhattan spaces: Exit Art and E.M.
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
Hence it is seen that when a wave of disturbance is propagated along the plant, there is a concomitant wave of radial E.M. variation.
From Response in the Living and Non-Living by Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose
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
For my own part, I hope that the ems come soon.
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
I think she's going to be good for 8,000 ems an hour in the hands of a good ordinary man after a solid year's practice.
From Mark Twain's Letters — Volume 4 (1886-1900) by Albert Bigelow Paine
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
