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
The turnover ➡️ The easy deuce for Khamenia @DukeMBB makes em pay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
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
“Bring em down,” she roared “And don’t forget the churn.”
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
We gotta get all of ’em out of here!”
From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2026
Parton told Soboroff she was singing about “All of ‘em.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
When Lee Feaster encouraged Boobie at age 8 to write down his goals, and “make ‘em plain,” Boobie took the advice literally.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
“And I want ’em this year, but I want ’em with two modifications.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
“Well, impart this to your so-called pupils. Tell ‘em to keep off my property.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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
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
Spinner Linsey Smith, all-rounder Em Arlott and batter Paige Scholfield were among the other players to attract fees of more than £100,000.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 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
“I think,” Em said, “that you’re, like, just not there yet. With Sherm.”
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
Strong performance in the EM space has increasingly been driven by a handful of stocks trading in Taiwan and South Korea, which play host to some of the world’s most influential AI hardware companies.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 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
RE' QUI EM, hymn in honor of the dead.
From Sanders' Union Fourth Reader by Charles W. Sanders
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
In these therefore my diligence is em- ploied, to profite many, although not with like Eloquence, beutified and adorned, as the matter requireth.
From A booke called the Foundacion of Rhetorike because all other partes of Rhetorike are grounded thereupon, euery parte sette forthe in an Oracion vpon questions, verie profitable to bee knowen and redde by Richard Rainolde
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
Midway through Matthew Lopez’s “The Inheritance,” a character lashes out at E.M.
From New York Times ● May 25, 2023
Diphasic variation—Positive after-effect and positive response—Radial E.M. variation.
From Response in the Living and Non-Living by Sir Jagadis Chandra Bose
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
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
From now I pays the union schedoole, the same bein' five cents a thousand ems more than former.
From Wolfville Days by Alfred Henry Lewis
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