What does "indent" mean?
A cut or notch in the margin of anything, or a recess like a notch.
Indent
/ˈɪndɛnt/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A cut or notch in the margin of anything, or a recess like a notch.
- Grammar: indent is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: indentation, accroach, address, adopt.
- Useful contrasts: bulge, erase, protrusion.
- Usage evidence: indent a smooth surface with a hammer
How to use "indent"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "indent" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "indent" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "indent" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "indent" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "indent" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "indentation" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "indent", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A cut or notch in the margin of anything, or a recess like a notch.
- 2 the space left between the margin and the start of an indented line wordnet
- 3 A stamp; an impression.
- 4 an order for goods to be exported or imported wordnet
- 5 A certificate, or intended certificate, issued by the government of the United States at the close of the Revolution, for the principal or interest of the public debt.
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A requisition or order for supplies, sent to the commissariat of an army.
Verb
- 1 To notch; to jag; to cut into points like a row of teeth transitive
"to indent the edge of paper"
- 2 bind by or as if by indentures, as of an apprentice or servant wordnet
- 3 To be cut, notched, or dented. intransitive
- 4 notch the edge of or make jagged wordnet
- 5 To dent; to stamp or to press in; to impress
"indent a smooth surface with a hammer"
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 make a depression into wordnet
- 7 To cut the two halves of a document in duplicate, using a jagged or wavy line so that each party could demonstrate that their copy was part of the original whole. historical
- 8 cut or tear along an irregular line so that the parts can later be matched for authentication wordnet
- 9 To enter into a binding agreement by means of such documents; to formally commit (to doing something); to contract. intransitive, obsolete, reflexive
"The Polanders indented with Henry, Duke of Anjou, their new-chosen king, to bring with him an hundred families of artificers into Poland."
- 10 set in from the margin wordnet
- 11 To engage (someone), originally by means of indented contracts. obsolete, transitive
"to indent a young man to a shoemaker; to indent a servant"
- 12 To begin (a line or lines) at a greater or lesser distance from the margin. See indentation, and indention. Normal indent pushes in a line or paragraph. "Hanging indent" pulls the line out into the margin.
"to indent the first line of a paragraph one em"
- 13 To crook or turn; to wind in and out; to zigzag. intransitive, obsolete
"Seeing Orlando, it vnlink'd it selfe, And with indented glides, did slip away"
- 14 To make an order upon; to draw upon, as for military stores. India, Singapore
"What is the rule observed in India in indenting upon England for military stores ?"
Antonyms
Example
"indent a smooth surface with a hammer"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "indent"?
Common synonyms include: indentation, accroach, address, adopt, adoption, alveolation.
How do you use "indent" in a sentence?
indent a smooth surface with a hammer
How do you pronounce "indent"?
Pronounced /ˈɪndɛnt/.
Etymology
Partly from Middle English indenten (“to dent in”), equivalent to in- + dent (see dent); partly from Middle English indenten, endenten, from Old French endenter (“to provide with teeth”), from en- (“in-, en-”) + dent (“tooth”), from Latin dēns.