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hem

[hem] / hɛm /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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But standing still is no guarantee of safety either: One woman’s hem got caught in the teeth of an escalator.

From Salon Jul. 14, 2026

There were forms and traditions and processes, there were strictures, rules, the law, expectations, all of which would hem in the head of the executive branch, at least eventually.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 2, 2026

Authorities often attempt to hem in or demolish slums rather than extend electricity, paved roads or schools to them.

From Barron's Jan. 16, 2026

“That’s my baby picture right here,” Skyy said, pulling up the hem of his shorts to show the tattoo.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 18, 2025

She was worrying the hem of her dress, and Valley looked at her intently.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

As it enters Assam's vast floodplains, home to some 28 million people and hemmed in by hills, it slows and deposits sediment, fuelling erosion and floods.

From BBC Aug. 11, 2026

When the park opened in 2006, I thought it seemed too flat and shapeless, too hemmed in by Broadway and Spring.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 1, 2026

Any new tool needs to be easily triggered, avoiding the lengthy arguments among capitals that have hemmed in European action in the past.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 19, 2026

It was whether federal courts, hemmed in by the modern law of habeas corpus, are permitted to say anything meaningful about that possibility at all.

From Slate Apr. 10, 2026

I looked at him and believed he spoke the truth, he seemed less fettered than he had been before, more modern, more human, he was not hemmed in by shadows.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

She was so thrilled by my interest that she would have handed over anything that fit, and I stayed up late hemming the dress by hand.

From Salon Jun. 12, 2026

Enormous ring hunts depended on hemming in the prey and driving it into an ever-tightening circle, ensuring abundant kills for the king and a memorable spectacle for onlookers.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 30, 2026

He has also mocked allies uneasy about the widening conflict, referring to those who "wring their hands and clutch their pearls, hemming and hawing about the use of force."

From Barron's Mar. 10, 2026

"The hemming wasn't right, the length wasn't right. You either go on parade right or you don't go at all."

From BBC Jan. 5, 2026

Some of the clothes have missing buttons or small rips and tears, and others need hemming or taking in.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline




Vocabulary lists containing hem


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