Word.ws English Dictionary

emacs

/ˈiːmæks/

emacs noun: any implementation or reimplementation of Emacs.

Noun (1)

emacs (plural emacses or emacsen)

  1. Any implementation or reimplementation of Emacs.

Proper noun capitalized: Emacs

Emacs

  1. A particular visual or WYSIWYG text editor (first written by Richard Stallman in 1975 but since reimplemented by others in several distinct versions), distinguished by its use of control characters as editing commands, by its lack of distinct "insert" and "edit" modes, and by its featurefulness and extensibility.
    • "Emacs was initially a text editor," says Stallman, explaining the getup. "Eventually it became a way of life for many and a religion for some. We call this religion the Church of Emacs."2002, Sam Williams, quoting Richard Stallman, Free as in Freedom

Noun (2) capitalized: eMacs

eMacs

  1. (plural) plural of eMac

Forms of emacs

pluralemacses
pluralemacsen

Origin of emacs

Blend of editor + macros.

Questions about emacs

What does emacs mean?
Emacs means any implementation or reimplementation of Emacs.
What part of speech is emacs?
Emacs can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce emacs?
Emacs is pronounced /ˈiːmæks/.
What is the plural of emacs?
The plural of emacs is emacses.

Words near emacs in the dictionary

  1. emaciates
  2. emaciating
  3. emaciation
  4. emaciations
  5. emacity
  6. emacs
  7. emacsen
  8. emacses
  9. emaculate
  10. emaculated
  11. emaculates

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: emacs (page history and authors); Emacs (page history and authors); eMacs (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-uk-emacs.ogg, En-us-Emacs.oga.

Cite this entry: “emacs.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/emacs. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.