How to use indent in a sentence

24 example sentences · noun, verb

Indent means a cut or notch in the margin of anything, or a recess like a notch. Example: “By default, the summary tasks are bold and outdented, and the subtasks are indented beneath them.”

Examples of indent by meaning

verbTo notch; to jag; to cut into points like a row of teeth.

to indent the edge of paper

verbTo dent; to stamp or to press in; to impress.

indent a smooth surface with a hammer
to indent wax with a stamp

verbTo enter into a binding agreement by means of such documents; to formally commit (to doing something); to contract.

The Polanders indented with Henry, Duke of Anjou, their new-chosen king, to bring with him an hundred families of artificers into Poland., New York, 2001, p.91

verbTo engage (someone), originally by means of indented contracts.

to indent a young man to a shoemaker; to indent a servant

verbTo begin (a line or lines) at a greater or lesser distance from the margin. See indentation, and indention. Normal...

to indent the first line of a paragraph one em
to indent the second paragraph two ems more than the first

More sentences with indent

By default, the summary tasks are bold and outdented, and the subtasks are indented beneath them.From the entry outdent
The response options and spaces are in a smaller font and indented underneath the question stem.2014, Don A. Dillman, Jolene D. Smyth, Leah Melani Christian, Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method…. From the entry question stem
It underwent an ESDA test for indented handwriting from the previous page.2002, David L. Distel, The Sweater Letter, page 158. From the entry ESDA test
Where are the bays which formerly indented the coastline of Hong Kong?1967, Gwenneth Stokes, John Stokes, “Hong Kong: Its Story in Brief”, in The Extreme East: A Modern History, Longman, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 395. From the entry Morrison Hill
Whatever we drew the officer signed an indent for and we gave up a surplus.1906, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Parliamentary Papers: 1850-1908 - Volume 57. From the entry underdraw
The citations are set in smaller font, start on a new indented line and are headed with a date.2018, James Lambert, “Setting the Record Straight: An In-depth Examination of Hobson-Jobson”, in International Journal of Lexicography…. From the entry head
Items within a block structure are sequential code statements indented the same amount to indicate that they are related.2016, Laura Tateosian, Python For ArcGIS, page 24. From the entry dedent
Unlike the indenting command, dedenting (can this really be used as a verb?) a block can cause problems.2008, Matthew A. Telles, Python Power!: The Comprehensive Guide, →ISBN. From the entry dedent
We loved the steamrollered look of these flat peaches with their indented centers (they really do resemble doughnuts).2002, Steven Raichlen, Beer-Can Chicken: And 74 Other Offbeat Recipes for the Grill, Hachette, →ISBN. From the entry doughnut peach
The spectacular, deeply indented fjorded coasts of the eastern Arctic contrasts with the low islands and peninsulas of the western Arctic.1988, Kenneth Ruddle, The Coastal Zone: Man's Response to Change, page 334. From the entry fjorded
Third subheadings begin paragraphs (are indented and run in).1976, American Institute of Physics, Editorial Handbook, page 17. From the entry run in
In types 2 and 3 atlantoaxial facetal dislocations, atlantodental interval is not altered and the odontoid process does not directly indent into the neural structures.2015 July 28, Atul Goel, “Craniovertebral Junction Instability: A Review of Facts about Facets”, in Asian Spine Journal, volume 9, →DOI. From the entry atlantodental
I tug his shirt over his head and slide my hands down, trailing them along the indent of his V-line between his waist and hips.2014, Deanna Chase, Defining Destiny, →ISBN, page 55. From the entry v-line
Should a stub column contain substubs, then the substubs are indented two or three spaces to show that they are subordinate to the stub item.1992, Joel P. Bowman, Bernadine P. Branchaw, “Special techniques: headings, lists, and tables”, in How to Write Proposals that Produce…. From the entry substubs
List Formatter makes properly-spaced & indented listings with page breaks; each statement on new line, if-thens and loops called out; a great de-bugger!1981, Apple Orchard, page 31. From the entry if-then
There is a klugy way around this problem, but it won’t work with justified text, and you have to indent the first line of every paragraph.1987, Dan Coleman, Arthur Naiman, et al., “Basic MacWrite tips”, in The Macintosh Bible: Thousands of Basic and Advanced Tips, Tricks and…. From the entry klugy
From Ford Lahaye it is a three hours’ sail in a canoe, along a coast indented with green valleys that run back climbingly through fields of sugar cane.1930, Alec Waugh, “La Martinique”, in Hot Countries, New York, N.Y.: The Literary Guild, page 119. From the entry climbingly

Meaning of indent

noun A cut or notch in the margin of anything, or a recess like a notch.
noun A stamp; an impression.
noun 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.

Full definition of indent

Questions about indent in a sentence

How do you use indent in a sentence?: Indent is used as a noun and verb. For example: “By default, the summary tasks are bold and outdented, and the subtasks are indented beneath them.”
What is a short sentence with indent?: “to indent the edge of paper”
What does indent mean?: Indent means a cut or notch in the margin of anything, or a recess like a notch.

Adapted from Wiktionary: indent (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use indent in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/indent. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.