Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hem up

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.24 in modern English

Syllables: hem up
IPA

12

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To restrain (a person) by grabbing their collar.

Informal; Transitive verb

verb

To arrest or lock up.

Slang; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"Taking him home she hemmed him up soon as they stepped in the door. Now Tony was a bad dude in the streets but when it came to his mama, he was a punk. A few cuss words on her part had him spilling everything."
"Felicia and Jorge remained inside, observing in horror. Carlos hastily went to where his brother was and grabbed him with all his might. He placed him in a choke-hold and hemmed him up on the brick wall."
"The last thing you want is to get hemmed up in prison."

Usage

Inflected Forms

hems up (present, singular) hemming up (participle, present) hemmed up (participle, past) hemmed up (past)

Questions

What does hem up mean?: To restrain (a person) by grabbing their collar.

How to pronounce hem up

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “hem up”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “hem up” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.