ahem

Interjection

1. (onomatopoeic) The sound of a quiet cough or of clearing one's throat.
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.[1606], No-body, and Some-body. […], [London]: […] [James Roberts] for Iohn Trundle […], signature D2, verso

   Synonyms:

   hey

3. Expresses disapproval or annoyance.
   • Ahem! In case you didn't notice, I did my share of the work, too.

   Synonyms:

   tut tut

4. Indicates subtle sarcasm, polite lying, or euphemism.
   • I really (ahem!) liked the chocolate broccoli surprise.
5. Indicates an unintentional or inappropriate pun.
   • The tone of Fat is casual and ahem, digestible, while also providing a succinct and significant overview of fatness and some of the issues most relevant to the burgeoning field of fat studies.2020 December 15, Jenna M. Wilson, “Fat by Hanne Blank, Bloomsbury Academic, 2020”, in Fat Studies, volume 10, number 2, →DOI, pages 205–207

Verb

ahem (third-person singular simple present ahems, present participle ahemming, simple past and past participle ahemmed)

1. 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.1856, Louise Chandler Moulton, Juno Clifford, page 108
   • 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.1858, The Peninsular and Independent Medical Journal, page 153