↔️ Blank line space ↔️ To move text in 🕳️ To make a dent ✂️ To notch for match 📄 An order form 🤝 To bind by contract

to indent

1 3.4

To move the first line of a paragraph inward from the margin

verb
/ɪnˈdɛnt/

: poner sangría

When I converted from EPUB to MOBI using a tool like Calibre, each first line was indented, and some lists also had strange indentations.
indent the first line

And I would suggest you indent one word from either side.

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Examples

But sort of everything that belongs to the same block needs to be indented the same way.

Lex Fridman
We mark the movement spatially by indenting each new paragraph.

Academic text (1997)
And I would suggest you indent one word from either side.

Tim Ferriss
That means the first line extends far left, but the other lines under it indent five to seven spaces.

Academic text (2002)
Don't indent the first line any more than that.

Academic text (2002)
Indent the first line of every paragraph five to seven spaces.

Academic text (2002)
Don't indent the first line of the abstract or a block quotation.

Academic text (2002)
Have you noticed that some paragraphs are indented?

Blog text (2)
In the comment scheme on MinnPost, if you reply to someone, your comment appears indented under theirs.

Blog text (7)
Make sure you indent the first line of each paragraph to improve readability.

Surface Forms

indent infinitive

indented past

indented past participle

indenting present participle

indents third person singular

Morphology

indent = dent (semi-transparent) = in + dent

The connection to making something go inward or form a dent-like recess is recognizable, but the specialized text-formatting use is not fully predictable for learners.

Etymology

Indent originally meant to cut or 'bite' in, from the same root as dent, meaning a small hollow. So to indent a paragraph is to move its first line in from the margin, like making a small 'bite' in the edge of the page.