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:
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
AI writing seems off, and not just because of its reliance on “it’s not X, it’s Y” constructions or my beloved em dashes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
“Take em all,” the billionaire co-founder of Politico texted to the editor of his news startup, Notus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
The turnover ➡️ The easy deuce for Khamenia @DukeMBB makes em pay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
That “all they want, man, is they own misery. Ax em to die for you and they yours for life.”
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
“We’re just going to keep ‘em all and see what happens,” Hortiz said, noting Branson Taylor will return from the injured reserve at some point too.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
With the boll weevil finishing off King Cotton, paper producers’ “plant ’em thick, cut ’em quick” approach spread.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 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
“What in blazes do you two see in them? Can’t eat ’em.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
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
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
Further down the ballot, “GNX,” “Chromakopia” and “Let God Sort Em Out” will compete with GloRilla’s “Glorious” and JID’s “God Does Like Ugly” for the rap album award.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025
He faces competition from fellow rap maverick Tyler, The Creator with his wildly inventive Chromakopia; and reunited hip-hop duo Clipse, whose Let God Sort Em Out is their first release since 2009.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2025
“Oh! Didn’t I say that? Em, I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry.”
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
“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