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:
But he said he’ll replace em dashes with two smaller dashes, hoping they’ll look more handmade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
“I was reading the Bible the other day, and there were em dashes in the book of James, and I was like, hmm, is this AI-generated?,”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
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
“Some of em last for a long time if we’re lucky, but most of them are fleeting,” he wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2025
The man had a light colered berd like pas was when I was a boy and he had the same blue eyes with pas look in em.
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
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
"I think let 'em play," Trump said in late April.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
It almost looks like the NBA upper brass — Adam Silver and his cohorts/consultants — have directly or indirectly “suggested” that referees simply “let ‘em play.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026
In “Pinball Wizard,” the Who’s Roger Daltrey sings: “Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve played the silver ball / From Soho down to Brighton, I must’ve played ’em all.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 15, 2026
When one of ’em says to another, ‘He was a convict, a few year ago, and is a ignorant common fellow now, for all he’s lucky,’ what do I say?
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
“I wish I were with you tonight, but Em is here.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 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
Clipse and John Legend performed “The Birds Don’t Sing,” from the rap duo’s “Let God Sort Em Out,” which is up for album of the year at Sunday’s Grammys ceremony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2026
Clipse, the duo of Pusha T and his brother Malice, reunited to release “Let God Sort Em Out,” their first album in more than 15 years, and nabbed five nominations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
Em carefully tore a marshmallow into two pieces and handed one to Tab.
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
The almost parabolic moves in parts of EM equities have been driven by earnings, as strong demand has collided with shortages and supply has struggled to catch up, he said in an interview.
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
“We have done a quick review of the 10 largest fundamental EM peers. We can say we have more than 20 stocks in our portfolio that are not in our peer universe,” Cho said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
Sweet Em, it is no little grief to me, To see, where nature in her pride of art Hath wrought perfections rich and admirable— EM.
From Fair Em by Shakespeare (spurious and doubtful works)
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
Most of his children were from home; some seeking em- ployment; some were already settled in homes of their own.
From Our nig, or, sketches from the life of a free black, in a two-story white house, North Showing that slavery's shadows fall even there by Wilson, Harriet E.
When circumstance, and one’s own body, seem to conspire against you, one can, as E.M.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 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
By elevating universalism alongside diversity — she returns many times to E.M.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 10, 2023
B.O.A.I., for "The Bible's Own Account of Itself," by E.M.; second edition, 1905.
From The Story of Anna Kingsford and Edward Maitland and of the new Gospel of Interpretation by Maitland, Edward
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
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
Some operators can never get beyond the 2500-em class, others with no more personal effort can set 5000 ems.
From Psychology and Industrial Efficiency by Münsterberg, Hugo
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.
