indent

Other forms: indented; indenting; indents

To indent is to begin text with a blank space between it and the margin. When you're writing an essay, you can indent the first sentence of each paragraph.

There are different styles of arranging type on a page, but it's fairly common to indent the beginning of a paragraph or section, which you can do with the tab key on a keyboard. Another way to indent is to cause a hollow, depression, or notch — in other words, to dent. This meaning is closest to the original, "to notch or give a serrated edge to," from Medieval Latin, indentare, "furnish with teeth."

Definitions of indent

1. verb

   set in from the margin
   “Indent the paragraphs of a letter”

   type of:

   arrange, format

   set (printed matter) into a specific format
2. verb

   cut or tear along an irregular line so that the parts can later be matched for authentication
   “indent the documents”

   type of:

   cut

   separate with or as if with an instrument
3. verb

   notch the edge of or make jagged
   types:

   recess

   make a recess in

   type of:

   notch

   cut or make a notch into
4. verb

   make a depression into
   synonyms: dent

   type of:

   bend, deform, flex, turn, twist

   cause (a plastic object) to assume a crooked or angular form
5. verb

   bind by or as if by indentures, as of an apprentice or servant
   synonyms: indenture

   type of:

   bind, hold, obligate, oblige

   bind by an obligation; cause to be indebted