Meaning & use
em
Last updated
A unit of measurement in typography equal to the width of the capital letter M in a given typeface, used to size spaces and dashes.
See it in a sentence
The em dash is wider than the shorter en dash typically used to indicate ranges.
Designers often set paragraph indents in ems rather than fixed pixel values.
A note on using this word
The em is a relative unit, so its exact width changes with the font size being used, unlike a fixed measurement such as an inch.
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