Home UK English 'em

Meaning of 'em in English:

'em

Pronunciation /əm/

pronoun

informal
short for them
‘let 'em know who's boss’
  • ‘The others all put on good show so if you like 'em you'll probably see 'em.’
  • ‘Plenty of American films get made without a single British villain in 'em.’
  • ‘Allowing for time difference James is about to hit the Broadway stage now so all I can say is knock 'em dead James!’
  • ‘And telling people about stuff I like is way, way easier if I can just send it to 'em.’
  • ‘If you didn't catch 'em the first time around, don't miss it and prepare to be blown away!’
  • ‘It can only get books to booksellers by using blokes to pick 'em out by hand, just as they used to do in the nineteenth century.’
  • ‘We asked for your nominations for the 2002 Liar of the Year Awards, and we got 'em.’
  • ‘Arrange the sliced red pepper over the whole in a lattice pattern if it pleases you, otherwise just chuck 'em in.’
  • ‘Maybe if it was only two teenagers he might had scared 'em off, but four?’
  • ‘Of course liqueurs and sugar can be added to the purée, but with the great Scottish raspberry who needs 'em?’
  • ‘I write great books, books that would make great movies, and you reject 'em, how stupid is that?’
  • ‘The long-termers give them a hard time for being out of place, even though most of 'em are geriatrics.’
  • ‘They reckon it makes 'em feel funny about coming into your office without knocking.’
  • ‘These days, no one would fight me because they know that, if I sat on 'em, I could kill 'em!’
  • ‘These boys don't get out in public as much as they used to, so see 'em when you can.’
  • ‘For a man who claims not to gamble - he certainly knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.’
  • ‘Week after week new posters get stapled up, and this guy has to go out and take 'em down.’
  • ‘It's people like you that start wars and, sadly, people like me that keep 'em going.’
  • ‘God bless 'em, I like both artists, but boy can they kill off a lively atmosphere or what.’
  • ‘Now tell 'em that your roommate got locked out, and you have to go let them in.’

Origin

Middle English originally a form of hem, dative and accusative third person plural pronoun in Middle English; now regarded as an abbreviation of them.