indent
    n 1: an order for goods to be exported or imported
    2: the space left between the margin and the start of an
       indented line [syn: indentation, indention, indent,
       indenture]
    v 1: set in from the margin; "Indent the paragraphs of a letter"
    2: cut or tear along an irregular line so that the parts can
       later be matched for authentication; "indent the documents"
    3: make a depression into; "The bicycle dented my car" [syn:
       indent, dent]
    4: notch the edge of or make jagged
    5: bind by or as if by indentures, as of an apprentice or
       servant; "an indentured servant" [syn: indenture, indent]

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.]
   [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]

Indent \In*dent"\, 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]

Indent \In*dent"\, 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]

indentation
indent

    Space and/or tab characters added at the
   beginning of a line to indicate structure, e.g. indenting a
   quotation to make it stand out or indenting a block of code
   controlled by an if statement.

   Indentation is important in source code for readability.  There
   are a number of different indent styles.  Some programming
   languages go further and use indentation as the main method to
   represent block structure to the compiler or interpreter, see
   off-side rule.

   (2008-10-23)