em
English · Français · Deutsch · Português · Tiếng Việt · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
em¹
- /ˈɛm/
Rhymes with -ɛm
Where it comes from
Attested since 1808. In typography, the em is named after the em quadrat (later called em quad), from m quadrat, a metal type used in letterpress typesetting, which is as wide as the point size of the font.
noun ems
- The name of the Latin script letter M/m. It said, in a whispering, buzzing voice, "Gee-you-ess-ess-ay-dash-em-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-em-eye-en-gee-oh-dash-pee-eye-pee-dash-pee-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-pee-eye-en-gee-oh."
- A unit of measurement equal to the height of the type in use. Insert here a one-em dash or long dash.
- A relative unit of sizing defined in terms of the font size.
em²
Where it comes from
See 'em.
pronoun
- Alternative form of 'em
em³
- /ɛm/
Where it comes from
Coined by Christine M. Elverson by removing the "th" from them, perhaps influenced by the pre-existing em/'em, now often perceived as apheretic forms of them (though originally unrelated).
pronoun emself · eir · eirs
- A gender-neutral third-person singular object pronoun, the objective case of ey or e, equivalent to the singular them and coordinate with him and her. If the author uses such notation, it should be up to Em to indicate Eir intentions clearly, but there’s no harm checking first.
em⁴
- /ɛ(ː)m/
Where it comes from
Onomatopoeic. Compare um.
em⁵
Where it comes from
From Russian эм (em), Ukrainian ем (em), etc.
noun ems
- The name of the letter м/М in Cyrillic alphabets.
Em⁶
proper noun
- A diminutive of the female given names Emily, Emma, and Emmeline. And oh, Aunt Em! I'm so glad to be at home again!
- Clipping of Eminem
noun Ems
- Alternative letter-case form of em
EM⁷
noun EMs
- Initialism of emergency medicine
- Abbreviation of electron microscope
- Abbreviation of electron microscopy
- Initialism of electromagnetism
- Initialism of electronic monitoring
- Initialism of emerging market
- Initialism of enlisted man
- Initialism of effective microorganism
- Initialism of energy management
- Initialism of English medium
adjective
- Abbreviation of electromagnetic Secondary drone got EM spectrum on the kill.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: pica, mutton, mut, pica em, dat, cryo, het, baile, josie, immuno, them, they, those, these, ones, individuals
Translations
Talk about this word "em." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/em. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. em. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/em "em." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/em.Cite this
@misc{em_2026,
title = {em},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/em},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
