Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Indent?

\In*dent"\, 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}.] 1. To notch; to jag; to cut into points like a row of teeth; as, to indent the edge of paper. 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. 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. 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}. 5. (Mil.) To make an order upon; to draw upon, as for military stores. [India] --Wilhelm.
\In*dent"\, v. i. 1. To be cut, notched, or dented. 2. To crook or turn; to wind in and out; to zigzag. 3. To contract; to bargain or covenant. --Shak. To indent and drive bargains with the Almighty. --South.
\In*dent"\, n. 1. A cut or notch in the man gin of anything, or a recess like a notch. --Shak. 2. A stamp; an impression. [Obs.] 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. 4. (Mil.) A requisition or order for supplies, sent to the commissariat of an army. [India] --Wilhelm.