indenture

American  

[in-den-cher] / ɪnˈdɛn tʃər /

noun

1. a deed or agreement executed in two or more copies with edges correspondingly indented as a means of identification.

2. any deed, written contract, or sealed agreement.

3. a contract by which a person, as an apprentice, is bound to service.

4. any official or formal list, certificate, etc., authenticated for use as a voucher or the like.

5. the formal agreement between a group of bondholders and the debtor as to the terms of the debt.

6. indentation.

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verb (used with object)

indentured, indenturing

1. to bind by indenture, as an apprentice.

2. Archaic. to make a depression in; wrinkle; furrow.

indenture British  

/ ɪnˈdɛntʃə /

noun

1. any deed, contract, or sealed agreement between two or more parties

2. (formerly) a deed drawn up in duplicate, each part having correspondingly indented edges for identification and security

3. (often plural) a contract between an apprentice and his master

4. a formal or official list or certificate authenticated for use as a voucher, etc

5. a less common word for indentation

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verb

1. (intr) to enter into an agreement by indenture

2. (tr) to bind (an apprentice, servant, etc) by indenture

3. obsolete (tr) to indent or wrinkle

Other Word Forms

• indentureship noun

Etymology

Origin of indenture

First recorded in 1275–1325; a Middle English word from the Medieval Latin word indentūra; indent ¹, -ure

Example Sentences

Waves of Indians migrated to East Africa around that time, as teachers, clerks, merchants and indentured workers.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Declaration proclaimed all men created equal, yet the new nation’s economy depended on enslaved labor in the South and indentured servitude in the North.

From The Wall Street Journal

As the conversation gets rolling, she digs into her roots, explaining that her maternal grandmother was an illiterate indentured servant.

From The Wall Street Journal

But when she gets kidnapped to work as an indentured servant at the Imperial Palace, she starts making a name for herself with her scientific know-how and talents at deduction.

From Salon

The Bible had a solution for this: the tradition of Jubilee, a 50-year ritual of debt forgiveness, land restoration and the emancipation of slaves and indentured servants.

From Salon