Hem Meaning
/hɛm/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
intjUsed to fill in the gap of a pause with a vocalized sound.
nounAn utterance or sound of the voice like "hem", often indicative of hesitation or doubt, sometimes used to call attention.
Sentence Examples
The tunic has a raw cut hem.
I need you to take in the hem by about an inch.
The hem of his clothing caught a nail.
CEFR Practice Quiz
To make the dress fit her better, she decided to ____ the bottom.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
My mother had to ____ my new trousers because they were a little bit too long for me to wear.
Word Origin & History
A sound uttered in imitation of clearing the throat (onomatopoeia)
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""Hem! hem! however there will be a by-place for me behind the stove.""
— 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 195:
"Hem, and stroke thy beard."
— 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
"“Sit down,” said the young man, gruffly. “He’ll be in soon.”
I obeyed; and hemmed, and called the villain Juno, who deigned, at this second interview, to move the extreme tip of her tail, in token of owning my acquaintance."
— 1847 December, Ellis Bell [pseudonym; Emily Brontë], chapter II, in Wuthering Heights: […], volume I, London: Thomas Cautley Newby, […], →OCLC:
"Entombed upon the very hem o' th' sea"
— c. 1605–1608 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv]:
"He’s in the saddle now. Fall in! Steady, the whole brigade! Hill’s at the ford, cut off — we’ll win his way out, ball and blade! What matter if our shoes are worn? What matter if our feet are torn? “Quick step! We’re with him before the morn!” That’s “Stonewall Jackson’s Way.”
The sun’s bright lances rout the mists of morning, and by George! Here’s Longstreet struggling in the lists, hemmed in an ugly gorge. Pope and his Yankees, whipped before, “Bay’nets and grape!” hear Stonewall roar; “Charge, Stuart! Pay off Ashby’s score!” in “Stonewall Jackson’s Way."
— 1862, John Williamson Palmer, Stonewall Jackson's Way
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
To make the dress fit her better, she decided to ____ the bottom.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
My mother had to ____ my new trousers because they were a little bit too long for me to wear.