hem

(hĕm)
n.

1. 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.
2. The height or level of the bottom edge of a skirt, dress, or coat; a hemline.

tr.v., hemmed, hem·ming, hems.

1. To fold back and stitch down the edge of.
2. To surround and shut in; enclose: a valley hemmed in by mountains. See synonyms at enclose.

[Middle English, from Old English hem, hemm.]

hemmer hem'mer n.

hem² (hĕm)
n.
A short cough or clearing of the throat made especially to gain attention, warn another, hide embarrassment, or fill a pause in speech.

intr.v., hemmed, hem·ming, hems.

1. To utter a hem.
2. To hesitate in speech.

idiom:

hem and haw

1. To be hesitant and indecisive; equivocate: "a leader who cannot make up his or her mind, never knows what to do, hems and haws" (Margaret Thatcher).

[From Middle English heminge, coughing, of imitative origin.]

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verb

1. To shut in on all sides: begird, beset, circle, compass, encircle, encompass, environ, gird, girdle, hedge, ring¹, surround. See open/close.
2. To surround and advance upon: besiege, close in, enclose, envelop, hedge. See open/close.

n

Definition: border, edge
Antonyms: body, center, interior

The projecting spiral of a volute of an Ionic capital.

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IN BRIEF: n. - Lap that forms a cloth border doubled back and stitched down; An expression used as a "filler" in conversation.

If your hem comes out, you can use a stapler as a quick fix.

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For a list of words related to hem, see:

• Fashion, Trim, and Sewing - hem: bottom of dress or pants folded back and stitched down
• Speech Sounds and Noises - hem: make sound of clearing throat, esp. while searching for words
• Actual Sounds
• Grunts, Calls, and Sounds

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See words rhyming with "hem."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Hem.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - kant, kantning, søm
v. tr. - kante, sømme

idioms:

• hem in    begrænse, indeslutte

2.
int. - hm, øhøm
n. - rømmen
v. intr. - rømme sig

idioms:

• hem and haw    hakke og stamme

Nederlands (Dutch)
zoom, kuchje, zomen, hummen, aandacht trekken, twijfel

Français (French)
1.
n. - ourlet
v. tr. - ourler, faire un ourlet à

idioms:

• hem in    cerner, être cerné, (fig) se sentir coincé par

2.
int. - hem, hem (excl)
n. - raclement de la gorge
v. intr. - faire hem hem

idioms:

• hem and haw    balbutier, hésiter

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Saum, Rand
v. - säumen

idioms:

• hem in    einschließen

2.
int. - Hmm, hum
n. - Räuspern, Hm
v. - sich räuspern

idioms:

• hem and haw    herumdrucksen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αναγύρισμα, στρίφωμα, ρέλι, ούγια, ποδόγυρος
v. - ρελιάζω, στριφώνω, (μτφ.) περικλείω, περικυκλώνω, (καθομ.) ξεροβήχω, κομπιάζω
int. - χμ!

idioms:

• hem and haw    κομπιάζω
• hem in    μπλοκάρω, περικλείω, περικυκλώνω

Italiano (Italian)
orlare, orlo

idioms:

• hem and haw    temporeggiare, esitare
• hem in    circondare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - bainha (f), beira (f)
v. - fazer bainha em
int. - som (m) de limpar a garganta (pigarro)

idioms:

• hem and haw    pigarrear buscando palavras
• hem in    cercar (pessoa, tropas)

Русский (Russian)
подрубочный шов, кайма, кромка, подрубать, окаймлять

idioms:

• hem and haw    запинаться
• hem in    осадить со всех сторон

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - dobladillo, borde, orilla
v. tr. - bastillar, dobladillar, repulgar

idioms:

• hem in    encerrar, rodear

2.
int. - sonido utilizado para llamar la atención o expresar duda
n. - la emisión de dicha palabra o sonido
v. intr. - pronunciar dicha palabra o sonido, vacilar o dudar en medio de un discurso

idioms:

• hem and haw    tartalear, titubear, vacilar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - fåll, kant, brädd
v. - fålla, kanta, humma, tveka
int. - hm!

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 褶边, 褶缝, 边, 边沿, 卷边, 给...缝边, 禁闭, 包围

idioms:

• hem and haw    吞吞吐吐
• hem in    包围

2. 哼声, 发哼声, 说话吞吞吐吐, 清嗓子

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 褶邊, 褶縫, 邊, 邊沿, 捲邊
v. tr. - 給...縫邊, 禁閉, 包圍

idioms:

• hem and haw    吞吞吐吐
• hem in    包圍

2.
n. - 哼聲
v. intr. - 發哼聲, 說話吞吞吐吐, 清嗓子

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 가장자리, 경계
v. tr. - ~을 에워싸다, ~의 가장자리에 감치다

idioms:

• hem in    에워싸다, ~을 포위하다

2.
int. - 에헴
n. - 헛기침
v. intr. - 에헴하다, 헛기침하다, 중얼거리다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - へり, 咳払い
v. - 縁を取る, 縁縫いをする, エヘンと言う, 言いよどむ, へりを取る
int. - ヘン, えへん, へん

idioms:

• hem and haw    口ごもる
• hem in    取り巻く, 閉じ込める, 束縛する

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حاشيه, هدب, حافه, تنحنح, نحنحه (فعل) يجعل للثوب حاشيه أو يهدب, يجعل للشئ حافه, يحصر, يطوق, يتنحنح, يتردد في الكلام (نداء) يصدر مثل هذا الصوت من الجزء الخلفي من الحنجرة بقصد لفت النظر إلى توريه أو تلاعب, لفظي أو غمز مبطن أو بينما يتردد في الكلام‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שפה, שולי-הבגד, מכפלת‬
v. tr. - ‮עשה שוליים, שיפה (בגד)‬
n. - ‮המ- (קול המהום)‬
v. intr. - ‮גמגם, המהם, כחכח, היסס‬

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