indenture

Name: indenture, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ɪnˈdɛn.ʃɝ/

//ɪnˈdɛn.ʃɝ// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“indenture” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #43,205. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#43,205
frequency rank, English: 17,902
“I” headwords: 13
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A contract which binds a person to work for another, under specified conditions, for a specified time (often as an apprentice).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

indenture vs indentured

90% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for indenture
Property	Value
Headword	indenture
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ɪnˈdɛn.ʃɝ/
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#43,205
Misspellings tracked	13
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “indenture” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). indenture lands here:

#43,205

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around indenture (IPA /ɪnˈdɛn.ʃɝ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #43,205 among 17,902 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for indenture, with forms such as "idnenture", "inddenture", and "indennture". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "indentured", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Anglo-Norman endenture, from Old French endenteure, from endenter (“to dent”). The name of the contract derives from the irregular dent-shaped cut (indentation) used to prove the authenticity of the two parts, similar to a chirograph. The correct English form is indenture, spelled I-N-D-E-N-T-U-R-E.

Definition

1
A contract which binds a person to work for another, under specified conditions, for a specified time (often as an apprentice).
2
A contract relating to lending (typically for issuing a bond), a real estate transaction, or a bankruptcy that imposes additional conditions on one or both parties.
3
A document, written as duplicates separated by indentations, specifying either of the above contracts.
4
An indentation; a recess.

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman endenture, from Old French endenteure, from endenter (“to dent”). The name of the contract derives from the irregular dent-shaped cut (indentation) used to prove the authenticity of the two parts, similar to a chirograph.

This word in other languages

Vertrag(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

idnenture
inddenture
indennture
indentrue
indentture
indentuer
indenturre
indenutre
indetnure
indneture
inednture
inndenture
nidenture

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of indenture - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "indenture"

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

How do you spell "indenture"?

"indenture" is spelled I-N-D-E-N-T-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪnˈdɛn.ʃɝ/.

What does "indenture" mean?

As a noun, "indenture" means: A contract which binds a person to work for another, under specified conditions, for a specified time (often as an apprentice).

What words are commonly confused with "indenture"?

"indenture" is commonly confused with "indentured". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "indenture"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "indenture" is /ɪnˈdɛn.ʃɝ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "indenture"?

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “indenture”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is I-N-D-E-N-T-U-R-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ɪnˈdɛn.ʃɝ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “indentured” - see the side-by-side comparison. indenture vs indentured
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

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.