ahem
/əˈhɛm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.25 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
intj
The sound of a quiet cough or of clearing one's throat.
intj
intj
Indicates the speaker does not wish to be perceived as rude, often intimating an impolite meaning to a third party that the speaker is not addressing.
intj
Indicates the speaker does not wish to be perceived as rude, often intimating an impolite meaning to a third party that the speaker is not addressing.
verb
To cough or clear one's throat so as to draw attention.
Example Sentences
- "Ahem! Could we please get started?"
- "Enter Nobody, and the Clowne. / Nobody. Ahem boy, Nobody is ſound yet for all his troubles."
- "Ahem! In case you didn't notice, I did my share of the work, too."
- "I really (ahem!) liked the chocolate broccoli surprise."
- "The tone of Fat is casual and ahem, digestible, while also providing a succinct and significant overview of fatness and some of the issues most relevant to the burgeoning field of fat studies."
- "He wouldn't have been suspected of crying for the world, but he coughed and ahemmed, and finally turned away without speaking."