English Dictionary

HEM (hemmed, hemming)

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

Irregular inflected forms: hemmed  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation, hemming  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation

 Dictionary entry overview: What does hem mean? 

HEM (noun)
  The noun HEM has 2 senses:

1. the edge of a piece of cloth; especially the finished edge that has been doubled under and stitched downplay

2. the utterance of a sound similar to clearing the throat; intended to get attention, express hesitancy, fill a pause, hide embarrassment, warn a friend, etc.play

  Familiarity information: HEM used as a noun is rare.


HEM (verb)
  The verb HEM has 2 senses:

1. fold over and sew together to provide with a hemplay

2. utter 'hem' or 'ahem'play

  Familiarity information: HEM used as a verb is rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


HEM (noun)


Sense 1

Meaning:

The edge of a piece of cloth; especially the finished edge that has been doubled under and stitched down

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

it seeped along the hem of his jacket

Hypernyms ("hem" is a kind of...):

edge (the outside limit of an object or area or surface; a place farthest away from the center of something)

Holonyms ("hem" is a part of...):

cloth; fabric; material; textile (artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers)

Derivation:

hem (fold over and sew together to provide with a hem)


Sense 2

Meaning:

The utterance of a sound similar to clearing the throat; intended to get attention, express hesitancy, fill a pause, hide embarrassment, warn a friend, etc.

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

ahem; hem

Hypernyms ("hem" is a kind of...):

utterance; vocalization (the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication)


HEM (verb)

 Conjugation: 
Present simple: I / you / we / they hem  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation ... he / she / it hems  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past simple: hemmed  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past participle: hemmed  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
-ing form: hemming  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation


Sense 1

Meaning:

Fold over and sew together to provide with a hem

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

hem my skirt

Hypernyms (to "hem" is one way to...):

run up; sew; sew together; stitch (fasten by sewing; do needlework)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

hem (the edge of a piece of cloth; especially the finished edge that has been doubled under and stitched down)


Sense 2

Meaning:

Utter 'hem' or 'ahem'

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "hem" is one way to...):

emit; let loose; let out; utter (express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s


 Context examples 


He caught at the hem of the secret.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

In the midst of the tumult, and while my eyes and ears were fully engaged in the scene before me, I heard a hem close at my elbow: I turned, and saw Sam.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Hem! I am glad of that, at least, said I.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Thou rascal, there is dirt on the hem!

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"Some handkerchiefs, all hemmed," said Beth.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Soon we were hemmed in with trees, which in places arched right over the roadway till we passed as through a tunnel; and again great frowning rocks guarded us boldly on either side.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

You are ruled by Jupiter, the expansive planet, so you don’t like any kind of budget or perimeter to hem you in.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Messner hemmed, cleared his throat, and hemmed again, semi-apologetically, and said, "I need some money."

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

"They jes' know we ain't loaded to kill," Henry remarked at bed-time, indicating the gleaming circle that hemmed them in.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Winthrop, without beauty and without dignity, was stretched before them; an indifferent house, standing low, and hemmed in by the barns and buildings of a farm-yard.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"Hunger is the best sauce." (English proverb)

"The snake moves, erasing its tracks with its tail." (Albanian proverb)

"The monkey in his mother's eye is a gazelle." (Arabic proverb)

"Hunger is the best cook." (Czech proverb)



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