I. hem 1 /hem/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ]
the edge of a piece of cloth that is turned under and stitched down, especially the lower edge of a skirt, trousers etc
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THESAURUS
▪ edge the part of something that is furthest from its centre or nearest the place where it ends:
He got up quickly, knocking his plate off the edge of the table.
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the outer edge of the village
▪ side the part of something that is near its left or right edge:
On the left side of the garden there was an old stone wall.
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They parked by the side of the road.
▪ rim the edge of something circular, especially the top of a cup or glass, or the outside edge of a pair of glasses:
a white cup with a gold rim
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She was looking at me over the rim of her spectacles.
▪ margin the empty space at the side of a page that has writing on it:
My teacher had marked my essay and made some comments in the margin.
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Leave wide margins on both sides of the page.
▪ hem the edge of a piece of cloth that is turned under and stitched down, especially the lower edge of a skirt, trousers etc:
If you want the dress a bit shorter, I can easily turn up the hem.
▪ kerb British English , curb American English the edge of the pavement (=raised path) at the side of a road:
A big black car was parked at the kerb.
▪ outskirts the areas of a city that are furthest away from the centre:
The new station was built on the outskirts of the city.
▪ perimeter the outside edge around an enclosed area of land such as a military camp or a prison:
Security guards patrol the perimeter night and day.
II. hem 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle hemmed , present participle hemming )
1 . [transitive] to turn under the edge of a piece of material or clothing and stitch it in place
2 . hem and haw American English to keep pausing before saying something, and avoid saying it directly
hem somebody/something ↔ in phrasal verb
1 . to surround someone or something closely:
They were hemmed in on all sides by the soldiers and the dogs.
The market place is hemmed in by shops and banks.
2 . to make someone feel that they are not free to do what they want to do:
They hem in the child with endless rules and restrictions.