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 ]

n. 1. A cut or notch in the margin of anything, or a recess like a notch. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A stamp; an impression. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. 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. D. Ramsay. A. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mil.) A requisition or order for supplies, sent to the commissariat of an army. [ 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 ]

n. [ OE. endenture, OF. endenture, LL. indentura a deed in duplicate, with indented edges. See the Note below. See Indent. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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

2. (Law) A mutual agreement in writing between two or more parties, whereof each party has usually a counterpart or duplicate, sometimes with the edges indented for purpose of identification; sometimes in the pl., a short form for indentures of apprenticeship, the contract by which a youth is bound apprentice to a master. [ 1913 Webster ]

The law is the best expositor of the gospel; they are like a pair of indentures: they answer in every part. C. Leslie. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Indentures were originally duplicates, laid together and indented by a notched cut or line, or else written on the same piece of parchment and separated by a notched line so that the two papers or parchments corresponded to each other. But indenting has gradually become a mere form, and is often neglected, while the writings or counterparts retain the name of indentures. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Hence: A contract by which anyone is bound to service. [ PJC ]