hem
verb/hem/
/hem/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they hem | /hem/ /hem/ |
| he / she / it hems | /hemz/ /hemz/ |
| past simple hemmed | /hemd/ /hemd/ |
| past participle hemmed | /hemd/ /hemd/ |
| -ing form hemming | /ˈhemɪŋ/ /ˈhemɪŋ/ |
- hem something to turn under and sew the edge of a piece of cloth, especially on a piece of clothing
- to hem a skirt
Word OriginOld English ‘border of a piece of cloth’, of West Germanic origin. The verb senses date from the mid 16th cent.Want to learn more?
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Idioms
See hem in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryhem and haw (North American English)
(British English hum and haw)
- (informal) to take a long time to make a decision or before you say something
- We hemmed and hawed for weeks before deciding to buy the house.
More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spick and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane
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hem