hem up

verb

To restrain (a person) by grabbing their collar.

“The last thing you want is to get hemmed up in prison.”

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Meanings

verbhem up (third-person singular simple present hems up, present participle hemming up, simple past and past participle hemmed up)

present singular third person hems up · participle present hemming up · participle past hemmed up · past hemmed up

  1. informaltransitiveTo restrain (a person) by grabbing their collar.

    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.

    2014, Tiffany Bolado, The Legacy of Misperception, page 89
    1 more example

    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.

    2006, Kali James, Can U Get Away?, page 17
  2. slangtransitiveTo arrest or lock up.

    The last thing you want is to get hemmed up in prison.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
immure
Cite this entry
APA

hem up. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hem%20up

MLA

“hem up.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hem%20up. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hem up,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hem%20up.

Source: hem up on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.