indie

[in-dee]Informal.

noun

an independently or privately owned business, especially a film or music company that is not affiliated with a larger and more commercial company: to work for an indie.

a movie or other work produced by such a company.

a genre of music, especially pop or rock, that is independently produced.

a person who works for an independently owned business or is self-employed.

adjective

noting or relating to an indie: an indie film producer; an indie video game.

noting or relating to independently produced music: indie rock; an indie pop group.

Origin of indie

First recorded in 1940–45; ind(ependent) + -ie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for indie

Contemporary Examples of indie

Being in an indie band is running a never-ending, rewarding, scary, low-margin small business.
How Much Money Does a Band Really Make on Tour?
Jack Conte
December 8, 2014
Between the second and third seasons of The O.C., McKenzie went off and shot his first feature film, the indie drama Junebug.
Ben McKenzie’s Journey From Reluctant Teen Idol on ‘The O.C.’ to Sheriff of ‘Gotham’
Marlow Stern
November 4, 2014
Now, the actress is back with a trio of standout performances in indie films.
The Resurrection of Kristen Stewart
Marlow Stern
October 11, 2014
Or, in a field as tiny as the “indie gaming” scene, end up in relationships with the people who make those products?
It's Dangerous to Go Alone: Why Are Gamers So Angry?
Arthur Chu
August 28, 2014
It about how hard it is to get indie films and adult dramas made.
Joan Allen on ‘The Killing’ Finale and That Mother of a Twist
Kevin Fallon
August 7, 2014

Historical Examples of indie

Now I had an indie browser running, I needed an indie network connection.
Little Brother
Cory Doctorow
It bears the title: Libro primo della historia dell' Indie Occidentali.
De Orbe Novo, Volume 1 (of 2)
Trans. by Francis Augustus MacNutt
For an indie artist, the big problem isn't piracy, it's obscurity: no one even cares enough about your tunes to steal 'em.
Little Brother
Cory Doctorow
Spelman, who was himself an archer, has illustrated the passage very clearly by a quotation from Arrian, Indie.
The First Four Books of Xenophon's Anabasis
Xenophon
The still-living short-footed semi-ape (brachytarsi), especially the muki, indie and lori, possess possibly a faint resemblance.
Was Man Created?
Henry A. Mott

British Dictionary definitions for indie

indie

noun

informal

an independent film or record company
(as modifier)an indie producer; the indie charts

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for indie

"independent record company," 1945, shortening of independent (among the earliest mentioned were Continental, Majestic, and Signature); used of film production companies since 1920s, of theaters from 1942; extended by 1984 to a type of pop music issued by such labels.