Definition

A unit of measurement in printing that is equal to the height of the type size being used, often used to measure the width of printed text.

Example

The designer chose a font size of 12 ems for the layout of the magazine.

Conversation

Have you ever heard of the term em in typography?

Yeah, it's a unit of measurement for type size, right?

Exactly! It's the width of a square piece of type.

That's interesting; I didn't know it was so specific!

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

This word originates from Old English 'em', which is a variant of 'them', meaning those people or things. It is used as a colloquial contraction of 'them' in informal speech.

Memory Tip

Think of 'them' as referring to a group of people or things, and remember that 'em' is just a shorter way to say it.

Visually Confused Words