indention

Indention, commonly called indentation, is the act of creating space at the start of a line or paragraph, or a feature such as a notch or groove on a surface. In typography, indentation marks the beginning of a new paragraph or a sub-block of text and helps organize content. In writing, a first-line indent is typically about 0.5 inches (about 1.27 cm), while hanging indents place the first line flush and align subsequent lines; left and right indents alter the overall margins of a paragraph. Indentation can also refer to a physical notch or groove formed by pressing or carving into a material.

In computing and formal writing, indentation serves to improve readability and structure. In many programming languages whitespace at the start of a line is ignored, but in Python and some others it defines code blocks, making indentation semantically meaningful. Style guides often specify using spaces rather than tabs and a standard width, commonly four spaces per level, to maintain consistent alignment across editors. In bibliographies and lists, hanging indents are used so that the first line stands out while subsequent lines align under the citation or item label.