Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use ahem in a sentence

10 example sentences · interjection, verb

Ahem means the sound of a quiet cough or of clearing one's throat. Example: “Ahem! Could we please get started?”

Examples of ahem by meaning

interjectionDemanding attention.

  • Ahem! Could we please get started?

interjectionExpresses disapproval or annoyance.

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

interjectionIndicates subtle sarcasm, polite lying, or euphemism.

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

interjectionIndicates 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

More sentences with ahem

  • The South Korean brand is after a more sophisticated and — ahem — mature look.2016 April 28, Tom Voelk, “Video Review: Hyundai Elantra Offers Fewer Curves, but a Better Ride”, in The New York Times. From the entry South Korean
  • Not all non sequiturs (ahem, non sequuntur) are vacuous per se.1998 September 19, Matthew Montchalin, “(Big Trees) Re: Vehicle weight (was: Teen drivers)”, in or.politics (Usenet). From the entry non sequuntur
  • Ahem, this multicolored cardigan is the moment.2023 June 16, Megan Uy, “25 Absolutely Gorgeous Crochet Clothing Pieces You Won’t Stop Wearing This Summer”, in Cosmopolitan. From the entry 'fit
  • It only makes up for the lack of spathic content if the tentacles are, ahem, 'Centaurian' in nature.2005 June 29, David McMillan, “Re: Sea Wasp is not happy with us”, in rec.arts.sf.written (Usenet). From the entry spathic
  • A couple of people on the Internet also seem to have that memory, a recollection so dim I found it on, ahem, Yahoo Answers.2016 August 12, Steve Johnson, “The mysteries of Olympic theme songs”, in tbt* (Tampa Bay Times), St. Petersburg, Fla.: Times Publishing…. From the entry Yahoo Answerer
  • But when all’s said and done, it is nothing more than a lot of ketchuppy-tasting diced tomatoes, rather highly seasoned with garlic and chilli, ahem, I mean “specially selected spices”.2001, New Statesman, volume 130, page 49, column 1. From the entry ketchuppy

Meaning of ahem

  1. interjection The sound of a quiet cough or of clearing one's throat.
  2. interjection Demanding attention.
  3. interjection Expresses disapproval or annoyance.

Full definition of ahem

Questions about ahem in a sentence

How do you use ahem in a sentence?
Ahem is used as an interjection and verb. For example: “Ahem! Could we please get started?”
What is a short sentence with ahem?
“Ahem! Could we please get started?”
What does ahem mean?
Ahem means the sound of a quiet cough or of clearing one's throat.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ahem (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use ahem in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/ahem. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.