chiefly British
used to indicate hesitation
Could a book be more audaciously marketed to grab the lucrative summer holiday market for, erm, beach reads than a book brazenly entitled Beach Read?David Barnett
compare um

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of erm was in 1911

Cite this Entry

“Erm.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/erm. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!