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• hem
  hem

  verb (used with object)

  to fold back and sew down the edge of (cloth, a garment, etc.); form an edge or border on or around.
• hem-
  hem-

  variant of hemo- before a vowel.

hem

¹ American  

[hem] / hɛm /

verb (used with object)

hemmed, hemming

1. to fold back and sew down the edge of (cloth, a garment, etc.); form an edge or border on or around.

2. to enclose or confine (usually followed by in, around, orabout ).

   hemmed in by enemies.

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noun

1. an edge made by folding back the margin of cloth and sewing it down.

2. the edge or border of a garment, drape, etc., especially at the bottom.

3. the edge, border, or margin of anything.

4. Architecture. the raised edge forming the volute of an Ionic capital.

hem ² American  

[hem] / hɛm /

interjection

1. (an utterance resembling a slight clearing of the throat, used to attract attention, express doubt, etc.)

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noun

1. the utterance or sound of “hem.”

2. a sound or pause of hesitation.

   His sermon was full of hems and haws.

verb (used without object)

hemmed, hemming

1. to utter the sound “hem.”

2. to hesitate in speaking.

idioms

1. hem and haw,

   1. to hesitate or falter.

      She hemmed and hawed a lot before she came to the point.

   2. to speak noncommittally; avoid giving a direct answer.

      He hems and haws and comes out on both sides of every question.

hem- ³ American  

1. variant of hemo- before a vowel.

   hemal.

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hem ¹ British  

/ hɛm /

noun

1. an edge to a piece of cloth, made by folding the raw edge under and stitching it down

2. short for hemline

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verb

1. to provide with a hem

2. to enclose or confine

hem ² British  

/ hɛm /

noun

1. a representation of the sound of clearing the throat, used to gain attention, express hesitation, etc

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verb

1. (intr) to utter this sound

2. to hesitate in speaking or in making a decision

hem- ³ British  

combining form

1. a US variant of haemo-

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Usage

What does hem- mean? Hem- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “blood.” It is used in many medical terms, especially in pathology. Hem- comes from the Greek haîma, meaning “blood.”Hem- is a variant of hemo-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. The spelling haem- is chiefly used in British English. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use hemo- article. Other variants of hem- used like hem- are hema-, hemato-, and hemat-. As with haem-, all of these combining forms are often spelled with an additional a in British English, as in haemo-, haema-, haemato-, and haemat-. Historically, these forms have been spelled with a ligature of the a and e, as in hæm-. Closely related to hem- are -aemia, -emia, -haemia, and -hemia, which are combined to the ends of words to denote blood conditions. You can learn all about the specific applications for each of these forms at our Words That Use articles for them.

Etymology

Origin of hem¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English hem(e), Old English hem, probably akin to ham “piece of enclosed land, enclosure”; see origin at home

Origin of hem²

First recorded in 1520–30; imitative

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Explanation

When kids grow taller, their parents sometimes have to let out the hem in their pants so they'll be long enough. The hem is the very bottom, folded edge of a piece of clothing. Most of your clothes have at least one hem in them — at the ends of your sleeves, the bottom of your skirt, or along the edge of your t-shirt. When a person sews a hem, whether he's making a dress or a pair of curtains, he folds a very small amount of fabric under two or three times and stitches along the edge in a straight line. In Old English, the word hem means "a border."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hem hem- hemmed hemming

In his hands a wafer-thin passage of clay becomes the fluttering hem of the Virgin’s mantle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

But standing still is no guarantee of safety either: One woman’s hem got caught in the teeth of an escalator.

From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026

She shows off large animal heads, including a rat and a bull, and an embroidered dress with a ruffled hem made for the production of the Handel opera "Alcina".

From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026

Already chic, an adjustable drawstring hem and belted detailing at the waist and wrists allows you to style the jacket your way.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2025

Aru was used to seeing her dressed like a shabby professor, in a blazer with scuffed elbows and a worn skirt with the hem coming undone.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

Mary Quant sold her first hem- and eyebrow-raising miniskirts.

From New York Times ● Dec. 26, 2013

When the park opened in 2006, I thought it seemed too flat and shapeless, too hemmed in by Broadway and Spring.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

The property is reachable by narrow roads hemmed in by overgrown trees, but its remoteness is an illusion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

Minetree has "cracking comic timing", the Independent said, but appeared to be "hemmed in by the Reese Witherspoon impression she's presumably been told to do".

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

This new version isn’t hemmed in by the traditional structures of a book musical, allowing it to play fast and loose with the theatrical context without having to throw out the story or the score.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

But unlike the church, which stood alone, this building was hemmed in close on either side by ordinary structures.

From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi

Begum, who did not give her first name, told AFP she had been turned away by many factories in Gazipur despite having experience in sewing and hemming.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

“They’re rolling their eyes at the price, hemming and hawing about it, but if people drink cold brew, they’re getting their cold brew,” said Pedeaux.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2025

Outside her window, farmland rolls into rocky coastline, hemming a glasslike bay striped with turquoise and populated by showboating dolphins.

From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2025

And they're hemming and hawing and saying, what if they use it as .

From Salon ● May 9, 2024

Joe had finally gone to his brother Fred and asked him point-blank where their father was, and Fred, after some hemming and hawing, had told him.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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