indent
/ˈɪndɛnt/
"indent" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“indent” is uncommon English (frequency #56,826 among 17,902 “I” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #56,826
- frequency rank, English
- 17,902
- “I” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A cut or notch in the margin of anything, or a recess like a notch.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | indent |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɪndɛnt/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #56,826 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “indent” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
indent is uncommon English at frequency #56,826 among 17,902 “I” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɪndɛnt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for indent in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Partly from Middle English indenten (“to dent in”), equivalent to in- + dent (see dent); partly from Middle English indenten, endenten, from Old French endenter (“to provide with teeth”), from en- (“in-, en-”) + dent (“tooth”), from Latin dēns. The correct English form is indent, spelled I-N-D-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1A cut or notch in the margin of anything, or a recess like a notch.
- 2A stamp; an impression.
- 3A 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.
- 4A requisition or order for supplies, sent to the commissariat of an army.
Etymology
Partly from Middle English indenten (“to dent in”), equivalent to in- + dent (see dent); partly from Middle English indenten, endenten, from Old French endenter (“to provide with teeth”), from en- (“in-, en-”) + dent (“tooth”), from Latin dēns.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “indent”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is I-N-D-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɪndɛnt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.