indent 1
— indenter, indentor , n.
v. /in dent"/ ; n. /in"dent, in dent"/ , v.t.
1. to form deep recesses in: The sea indents the coast.
2. to set in or back from the margin, as the first line of a paragraph.
3. to sever (a document drawn up in duplicate) along an irregular line as a means of identification.
4. to cut or tear the edge of (copies of a document) in an irregular way.
5. to make toothlike notches in; notch.
6. to indenture, as an apprentice.
7. Brit. to draw an order upon.
8. Chiefly Brit. to order, as commodities.
v.i.
9. to form a recess.
10. Chiefly Brit. to make out an order or requisition in duplicate.
11. Obs.
a. to draw upon a person or thing for something.
b. to enter into an agreement by indenture; make a compact.
n.
12. a toothlike notch or deep recess; indentation.
13. an indention.
14. an indenture.
15. Amer. Hist. a certificate issued by a state or the federal government at the close of the Revolutionary War for the principal or interest due on the public debt.
16. Brit. a requisition for stores.
[ 1350-1400; ME; back formation from indented having toothlike notches, ME indentatus, equiv. to L in- IN- 2 + dentatus DENTATE; see -ED 2 ]
indent 2
v. /in dent"/ ; n. /in"dent, in dent"/ , v.t.
1. to dent; press in so as to form a dent: to indent a pattern on metal.
2. to make or form a dent in: The wooden stairs had been indented by horses' hooves.
n.
3. a dent.
[ 1300-50; ME; see IN- 2 , DENT 1 ]