Indent

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Indented; p. pr. & vb. n. Indenting. ] [ OE. endenten to notch, fit in, OF. endenter, LL. indentare, fr. L. in + dens, dentis, tooth. See Tooth, and cf. Indenture. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To notch; to jag; to cut into points like a row of teeth; as, to indent the edge of paper. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To dent; to stamp or to press in; to impress; as, indent a smooth surface with a hammer; to indent wax with a stamp. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. [ Cf. Indenture. ] To bind out by indenture or contract; to indenture; to apprentice; as, to indent a young man to a shoemaker; to indent a servant. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Print.) To begin (a line or lines) at a greater or less distance from the margin; as, to indent the first line of a paragraph one em; to indent the second paragraph two ems more than the first. See Indentation, and Indention. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Mil.) To make an order upon; to draw upon, as for military stores. [ India ] Wilhelm. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To be cut, notched, or dented. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To crook or turn; to wind in and out; to zigzag. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To contract; to bargain or covenant. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To indent and drive bargains with the Almighty. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of indenting or state of being indented. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A notch or recess, in the margin or border of anything; as, the indentations of a leaf, of the coast, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A recess or sharp depression in any surface. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Print.) (a) The act of beginning a line or series of lines at a little distance within the flush line of the column or page, as in the common way of beginning the first line of a paragraph. (b) The measure of the distance; as, an indentation of one em, or of two ems. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hanging indentation, or
Reverse indentation, indentation of all the lines of a paragraph except the first, which is a full line; also called a hanging indent. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Cut in the edge into points or inequalities, like teeth; jagged; notched; stamped in; dented on the surface. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Having an uneven, irregular border; sinuous; undulating. Milton. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Her.) Notched like the part of a saw consisting of the teeth; serrated; as, an indented border or ordinary. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Bound out by an indenture; apprenticed; indentured; as, an indented servant. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Zool.) Notched along the margin with a different color, as the feathers of some birds. [ 1913 Webster ]

Indented line (Fort.), a line with alternate long and short faces, with salient and receding angles, each face giving a flanking fire along the front of the next. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. With indentations. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Indentation; an impression like that made by a tooth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Print.) Same as Indentation, 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Indenture. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]