hem up
"hem-up" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hem up” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To restrain (a person) by grabbing their collar.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hem-up · hem up · English
hem up · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hem up |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “hem up” in English
Rare enough to double-check
hem up is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for hem up in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is hem up, spelled H-E-M- -U-P.
Definition
- 1To restrain (a person) by grabbing their collar.
- 2To arrest or lock up.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hem up appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Taking him home she hemmed him up soon as they stepped in the door. Now Tony was a bad dude in the streets but when it came to his mama, he was a punk. A few cuss words on her part had him spilling everything.
Felicia and Jorge remained inside, observing in horror. Carlos hastily went to where his brother was and grabbed him with all his might. He placed him in a choke-hold and hemmed him up on the brick wall.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.