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(onomatopoeia) The sound of a quiet cough or of clearing one's throat. examples
An exclamation or cough to get attention. examples
An exclamation of disapproval or annoyance. examples
An exclamation to indicate sarcasm. examples
third-person singular simple present ahems, present participle ahemming, simple past and past participle ahemmed
To cough or clear one's throat so as to draw attention. quotations examples
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