ahem
interjection
a throat-clearing sound; often read as
ə-ˈhem 
—used especially to attract attention or to express disapproval or embarrassment
Examples of ahem in a Sentence
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The original Friday the 13th, directed by Sean S. Cunningham and written by Victor Miller, made an, ahem, killing at the box office — grossing nearly $60 million against a reported budget of just $550,000.
—
EW.com, 25 Mar. 2025
Doesn’t that seem like an obvious way to breed resentment and, ahem, rebellion?
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 21 Mar. 2025
There may have been some flustering over certain new additions to the Bridget Jones cast Wednesday night (ahem, looking at you, Leo Woodall and Chiwetel Ejiofor), but most of the love was thrown right at Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant.
—Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2025
After some *ahem* terse calls with FedEx that yielded nothing, Anthony and I had less than 24 hours to come up with another plan.
—James Powel, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2025
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EW.com, 25 Mar. 2025
Doesn’t that seem like an obvious way to breed resentment and, ahem, rebellion?
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 21 Mar. 2025
There may have been some flustering over certain new additions to the Bridget Jones cast Wednesday night (ahem, looking at you, Leo Woodall and Chiwetel Ejiofor), but most of the love was thrown right at Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant.
—Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2025
After some *ahem* terse calls with FedEx that yielded nothing, Anthony and I had less than 24 hours to come up with another plan.
—James Powel, USA TODAY, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ahem
Cite this Entry
“Ahem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ahem. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.
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