indenture
Americannoun
-
a deed or agreement executed in two or more copies with edges correspondingly indented as a means of identification.
-
any deed, written contract, or sealed agreement.
-
a contract by which a person, as an apprentice, is bound to service.
-
any official or formal list, certificate, etc., authenticated for use as a voucher or the like.
-
the formal agreement between a group of bondholders and the debtor as to the terms of the debt.
verb (used with object)
-
to bind by indenture, as an apprentice.
-
Archaic. to make a depression in; wrinkle; furrow.
noun
-
any deed, contract, or sealed agreement between two or more parties
-
(formerly) a deed drawn up in duplicate, each part having correspondingly indented edges for identification and security
-
(often plural) a contract between an apprentice and his master
-
a formal or official list or certificate authenticated for use as a voucher, etc
-
a less common word for indentation
verb
-
(intr) to enter into an agreement by indenture
-
(tr) to bind (an apprentice, servant, etc) by indenture
-
obsolete (tr) to indent or wrinkle
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
indenturesimple
-
indenturessimple
-
have indenturedperfect
-
has indenturedperfect
-
am indenturingprogressive
-
are indenturingprogressive
-
is indenturingprogressive
-
have been indenturingperfect progressive
-
has been indenturingperfect progressive
Past
-
indenturedsimple
-
had indenturedperfect
-
was indenturingprogressive
-
were indenturingprogressive
-
had been indenturingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of indenture
First recorded in 1275–1325; a Middle English word from the Medieval Latin word indentūra; see indent 1, -ure
Explanation
An indenture is a formal legal agreement. Many earned passage to the British colonies by indenturing, or selling, themselves to a master for a period of seven years–-they were called indentured laborers. Indenture can describe what you owe to someone else. If you promised your friend you would take her shopping for a prom dress, you might fulfill your indenture over the course of three trips to the mall. A detention is an indenture of a kind––for your crime, you owe time.
Vocabulary lists containing indenture
American History I
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Chains
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Lyle Cherneff: Maryland historian Richard Paul Fugate estimates that between 3,000 and 4,000 children, in the first weeks after emancipation alone, were re-enslaved through these fraudulent indenture contracts.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
In a little over a year, my three-decade indenture as a full-time laundress will come to an end.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2024
When Fiji de-criminalized the desertion of indenture contracts in 1916, it is little wonder that hundreds of workers left the colony's sugar plantations.
From Salon ● Mar. 17, 2023
One of them, John Casar, got a nearby white planter to petition the county to free him from his indenture.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2019
But he was adopted by a missionary who taught him English, and then he worked for various English people in Calcutta before signing up for his indenture and traveling across the ocean.
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
Franklin Roosevelt had repudiated the so-called gold clauses in private and government bond indentures, aware that upholding payment in gold would have provoked widespread bankruptcies and devastated the federal budget.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2023
The bonds themselves have been issued with a mix of terms and indentures.
From Reuters ● Mar. 15, 2022
Myrra Dal is a contract worker, one of thousands of people serving out indentures signed by their great-grandparents in exchange for passage off a dying Earth.
From New York Times ● Jul. 30, 2021
Without radical change, all of our choices at home and as a nation will be increasingly driven by servicing these indentures from which there will be no redemption.
From Salon ● Jan. 12, 2020
Grisha indentures were kept to the house for good reason.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
The Freedmen’s Bureau used it to reunite 110 indentured children with their parents.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Mark Joseph Stern: Elizabeth Turner was 8 years old when she was indentured just two days after she and her mother ostensibly gained their freedom.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
The books take place in a galaxy where space travel is fast and many people live in indentured servitude to giant corporations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
To me, indentured wealth feels like something that should be disbanded.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2024
Gandhi saw indenture for what it was: “almost as bad as slavery. Like the slave the indentured labourer was the property of his master.”
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
The R.A.F. conveniently provided a scholarship, indenturing him to air service later on.
From Time Magazine Archive
The system of indenturing had long since disappeared, because legislatures and courts declined to recognize and enforce contracts for service.
From Races and Immigrants in America by Commons, John R. (John Rogers)
When I was going to South Africa on the Norman the great question of the hour was the indenturing of the Bechuanaland rebels.
From Through South Africa His Visit to Rhodesia, the Transvaal, Cape Colony, Natal by Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton)
The indenturing of the Bechuana rebels was a subject upon which much was said on both sides.
From Through South Africa His Visit to Rhodesia, the Transvaal, Cape Colony, Natal by Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton)
Working people of the colonial period were hoodwinked and kidnapped by shippers and speculators who reimbursed themselves by indenturing them to planters and farmers.
From Races and Immigrants in America by Commons, John R. (John Rogers)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
