noun. An edge or border on a piece of cloth, especially a finished edge, as for a garment or curtain, made by folding an edge under and stitching it down.

noun. The height or level of the bottom edge of a skirt, dress, or coat; a hemline.

transitive verb. To fold back and stitch down the edge of.

transitive verb. To surround and shut in; enclose: synonym: enclose.

noun. A short cough or clearing of the throat made especially to gain attention, warn another, hide embarrassment, or fill a pause in speech.

intransitive verb. To utter a hem.

intransitive verb. To hesitate in speech.

idiom. (hem and haw) To be hesitant and indecisive; equivocate.

To form a hem or border to; fold and sew down the edge of: as, to hem an apron.

To border; edge.

To inclose; circumscribe; limit or confine by an environment of any kind: with in, about, or around.

An interjectional utterance, a sort of voluntary half-cough, intended to attract the attention of a particular person, to cover embarrassment by feigned indifference or hesitation, etc. Also ahem.

noun. A narrow fold in the edge of a piece of textile material, made to prevent it from raveling.

noun. Edge; border; margin.

noun. In architecture, the projecting spiral of the Ionic capital.

See he, I., D .

To make the sound expressed by the word hem; hence, to hesitate or stammer in speaking: as, to hem and haw.

To remove or otherwise affect by coughing.

See hemato-.

noun. An utterance or sound of the voice, hem or hm, often indicative of hesitation or doubt, sometimes used to call attention.

interjection. An onomatopoetic word used as an expression of hesitation, doubt, etc. It is often a sort of voluntary half cough, loud or subdued, and would perhaps be better expressed by hm.

pronoun. Them.

intransitive verb. To make the sound expressed by the word hem; hence, to hesitate in speaking.

noun. The edge or border of a garment or cloth, doubled over and sewed, to strengthen it and prevent raveling.

noun. Border; edge; margin.

noun. A border made on sheet-metal ware by doubling over the edge of the sheet, to stiffen it and remove the sharp edge.

transitive verb. To form a hem or border to; to fold and sew down the edge of.

transitive verb. To border; to edge.

transitive verb. to inclose and confine; to surround; to environ.

transitive verb. undefined

transitive verb. undefined

transitive verb. to shut out.

interjection. Used to fill in the gap of a pause with a vocalized sound.

noun. The border of an article of clothing doubled back and stitched together to finish the edge and prevent it from fraying.

noun. A rim or margin of something.

noun. In sheet metal design, a rim or edge folded back on itself to create a smooth edge and to increase strength or rigidity.

verb. (in sewing) To make a hem.

verb. (in speaking) To make a sound like hem (usually coupled with "haw" as in "hemmed and hawed.")

verb. : To put hem on an article of clothing, to edge or put a border on something.

verb. : To surround something or someone in a confining way.

pronoun. Obsolete form of 'em.

verb. utter `hem' or `ahem'

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

verb. fold over and sew together to provide with a hem

noun. 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.

"‘Course, another reason that couples stayed together in the past was that women actually having jobs beyond washerwoman/alewyf/seamstress - hem hem**/ wise woman that paid a living wage is a comparatively recent phenomenon."

ahem  haw  surround  to hem out  

hemmed  hemmer  hemming  

edge  emit  let loose  let out  run up  

Am  Clem  Em  Fm  Gem  

ankle  belt  blouse  bodice  breech  

adjoin  bank  bar  beading  befringe  

hemmed  hemming  

hemmed  hemming  hems  hummed