ahem

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   The sound of a quiet cough or of clearing one's throat.

2. 2

   Demanding attention.

   • Ahem! Could we please get started?
   • Enter Nobody, and the Clowne. / Nobody. Ahem boy, Nobody is ſound yet for all his troubles.
3. 3

   Expresses disapproval or annoyance.

   • Ahem! In case you didn't notice, I did my share of the work, too.
4. ›+ 2 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      Indicates the speaker does not wish to be perceived as rude, often intimating an impolite…

      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.

      • I really (ahem!) liked the chocolate broccoli surprise.
   2. 5

      To cough or clear one's throat so as to draw attention.

      • He wouldn't have been suspected of crying for the world, but he coughed and ahemmed, and finally turned away without speaking.
      • A full inspiration, preparatory to hawking, ahemming, or premeditated careful coughing, would excite an explosion of an unusually violent and persistent cough, hurrying the breath out of the poor victims.

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