Definition of "hem" []

• 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. (noun)
• To fold back and stitch down the edge of. (verb-transitive)
• To surround and shut in; enclose: a valley hemmed in by mountains. See Synonyms at enclose. (verb-transitive)
• A short cough or clearing of the throat made especially to gain attention, warn another, hide embarrassment, or fill a pause in speech. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "‘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."
• "When seated, the dress hem is still nice and long."
• ""If this, señor," he said, breaking off, "does not win the señorita, we will try -- what you call hem -- direct action."