Order vs. Indent — What's the Difference?

A command given in a hierarchical structure.

A space left at the beginning of a text line.

Legal or formal instruction.

In computer programming, to structure code for better readability.

An arrangement or sequence.

A method to highlight dialogue or quotes in text.

To request something to be made, supplied, or served.

Formatting used to organize written content.

A request for goods or services.

To set the first line of a paragraph in from the margin.

The arrangement or disposition of people or things in relation to each other according to a particular sequence, pattern, or method

Start (a line of text) or position (a block of text) further from the margin than the main part of the text

An authoritative command or instruction

Form deep recesses or notches in (a line or surface)

A particular social, political, or economic system

Make a requisition or written order for something

A society of monks, nuns, or friars living under the same religious, moral, and social regulations and discipline

Divide (a document drawn up in duplicate) into its two copies with a zigzag line, thus ensuring identification and preventing forgery.

The quality or nature of something

Make a dent or impression in (something)

A principal taxonomic category that ranks below class and above family

An official order or requisition for goods

Any of the five classical styles of architecture (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Composite) based on the proportions of columns and the style of their decoration.

A space left by indenting text

Equipment or uniform for a specified purpose or of a specified type

An indentation

The degree of complexity of an equation, expression, etc., as denoted by an ordinal number.

An indenture.

Give an authoritative instruction to do something

To set (the first line of a paragraph, for example) in from the margin.

Request (something) to be made, supplied, or served

To cut or tear (a document with two or more copies) along an irregular line so that the parts can later be matched for establishing authenticity.

Arrange (something) in a methodical way

To draw up (a document) in duplicate or triplicate.

A condition of logical or comprehensible arrangement among the separate elements of a group.

To notch or serrate the edge of; make jagged.

A condition of methodical or prescribed arrangement among component parts such that proper functioning or appearance is achieved

To make notches, grooves, or holes in (wood, for example) for the purpose of mortising.

Condition or state in general

To fit or join together by or as if by mortising.

The established system of social organization

Chiefly British To order (goods) by purchase order or official requisition.

A condition in which freedom from disorder or disruption is maintained through respect for established authority

To make or form an indentation.

A sequence or arrangement of successive things

Chiefly British To draw up or order an indent.

The prescribed form or customary procedure, as in a meeting or court of law

To impress (a design, for example); stamp.

An authoritative indication to be obeyed; a command or direction.

The act of indenting or the condition of being indented.

A command given by a superior military officer requiring obedience, as in the execution of a task.

A blank space before the beginning of an indented line

Orders Formal written instructions to report for military duty at a specified time and place.

An indenture.

A commission or instruction to buy, sell, or supply something.

A US certificate issued at the close of the American Revolution for interest due on the public debt.

That which is supplied, bought, or sold.

Chiefly British An official requisition or purchase order for goods.

A request made by a customer at a restaurant for a portion of food.

An indentation.

The food requested.

A cut or notch in the margin of anything, or a recess like a notch.

(Law) A directive or command of a court.

A stamp; an impression.

Any of several grades of the Christian ministry

A certificate, or intended certificate, issued by the government of the United States at the close of the Revolution, for the principal or interest of the public debt.

Often orders The rank of an ordained Christian minister or priest.

A requisition or order for supplies, sent to the commissariat of an army.

Often orders The sacrament or rite of ordination.

(transitive) To notch; to jag; to cut into points like a row of teeth

Any of the nine grades or choirs of angels.

(intransitive) To be cut, notched, or dented.

A group of persons living under a religious rule

To dent; to stamp or to press in; to impress

An organization of people united by a common fraternal bond or social aim.

(historical) To cut the two halves of a document in duplicate, using a jagged or wavy line so that each party could demonstrate that their copy was part of the original whole.

A group of people upon whom a government or sovereign has formally conferred honor for unusual service or merit, entitling them to wear a special insignia

To enter into a binding agreement by means of such documents; to formally commit (to doing something); to contract.

The insignia worn by such people.

To engage (someone), originally by means of indented contracts.

Often orders A social class

(typography) To begin (a line or lines) at a greater or lesser distance from the margin. See indentation, and indention. Normal indent pushes in a line or paragraph. "Hanging indent" pulls the line out into the margin.

A class defined by the common attributes of its members; a kind.

To crook or turn; to wind in and out; to zigzag.

Degree of quality or importance; rank

To make an order upon; to draw upon, as for military stores.

Any of several styles of classical architecture characterized by the type of column and entablature employed. Of the five generally accepted classical orders, the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders are Greek and the Tuscan and Composite orders are Roman.

To notch; to jag; to cut into points like a row of teeth; as, to indent the edge of paper.

A style of building

To dent; to stamp or to press in; to impress; as, indent a smooth surface with a hammer; to indent wax with a stamp.

(Biology) A taxonomic category of organisms ranking above a family and below a class.

To bind out by indenture or contract; to indenture; to apprentice; as, to indent a young man to a shoemaker; to indent a servant.

The sum of the exponents to which the variables in a term are raised; degree.

To begin (a line or lines) at a greater or less distance from the margin; as, to indent the first line of a paragraph one em; to indent the second paragraph two ems more than the first. See Indentation, and Indention.

An indicated number of successive differentiations to be performed.

To make an order upon; to draw upon, as for military stores.

The number of elements in a finite group.

To be cut, notched, or dented.

The number of rows or columns in a determinant or matrix.

To crook or turn; to wind in and out; to zigzag.

To issue a command or instruction to

To contract; to bargain or covenant.

To direct to proceed as specified

A cut or notch in the margin of anything, or a recess like a notch.

To give a command or instruction for

A stamp; an impression.

To request to be supplied with

A certificate, or intended certificate, issued by the government of the United States at the close of the Revolution, for the principal or interest of the public debt.

To put into a methodical, systematic arrangement

A requisition or order for supplies, sent to the commissariat of an army.

To predestine; ordain.

An order for goods to be exported or imported

To give an order or orders; request that something be done or supplied.

The space left between the margin and the start of an indented line

(countable) Arrangement, disposition, or sequence.

Set in from the margin;

(countable) A position in an arrangement, disposition, or sequence.

Cut or tear along an irregular line so that the parts can later be matched for authentication;

(uncountable) The state of being well arranged.

Make a depression into;

(countable) Conformity with law or decorum; freedom from disturbance; general tranquillity; public quiet.

Notch the edge of or make jagged

(countable) A command.

Bind by or as if by indentures, as of an apprentice or servant;

(countable) A request for some product or service; a commission to purchase, sell, or supply goods.

(countable) A group of religious adherents, especially monks or nuns, set apart within their religion by adherence to a particular rule or set of principles.

(countable) An association of knights.

Any group of people with common interests.

(countable) A decoration, awarded by a government, a dynastic house, or a religious body to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity.

A category in the classification of organisms, ranking below class and above family; a taxon at that rank.

A number of things or persons arranged in a fixed or suitable place, or relative position; a rank; a row; a grade; especially, a rank or class in society; a distinct character, kind, or sort.

(Christianity) An ecclesiastical rank or position, usually for the sake of ministry, when plural holy orders.

(architecture) The disposition of a column and its component parts, and of the entablature resting upon it, in classical architecture; hence (since the column and entablature are the characteristic features of classical architecture) a style or manner of architectural design.

(cricket) The sequence in which a side’s batsmen bat; the batting order.

(electronics) A power of polynomial function in an electronic circuit’s block, such as a filter, an amplifier, etc.

(chemistry) The overall power of the rate law of a chemical reaction, expressed as a polynomial function of concentrations of reactants and products.

(set theory) The cardinality, or number of elements in a set, group, or other structure regardable as a set.

For given group G and element g ∈ G, the smallest positive natural number n, if it exists, such that (using multiplicative notation), gⁿ = e, where e is the identity element of G; if no such number exists, the element is said to be of infinite order (or sometimes zero order).

(graph theory) The number of vertices in a graph.

(order theory) A partially ordered set.

(order theory) The relation on a partially ordered set that determines that it is, in fact, a partially ordered set.

(algebra) The sum of the exponents on the variables in a monomial, or the highest such among all monomials in a polynomial.

(finance) A written direction to furnish someone with money or property; compare money order, postal order.

(transitive) To set in some sort of order.

(transitive) To arrange, set in proper order.

(transitive) To issue a command to.

(transitive) To request some product or service; to secure by placing an order.

To admit to holy orders; to ordain; to receive into the ranks of the ministry.

Regular arrangement; any methodical or established succession or harmonious relation; method; system

Right arrangement; a normal, correct, or fit condition; as, the house is in order; the machinery is out of order.

The customary mode of procedure; established system, as in the conduct of debates or the transaction of business; usage; custom; fashion.

Conformity with law or decorum; freedom from disturbance; general tranquillity; public quiet; as, to preserve order in a community or an assembly.

That which prescribes a method of procedure; a rule or regulation made by competent authority; as, the rules and orders of the senate.

A command; a mandate; a precept; a direction.

Hence: A commission to purchase, sell, or supply goods; a direction, in writing, to pay money, to furnish supplies, to admit to a building, a place of entertainment, or the like; as, orders for blankets are large.

A number of things or persons arranged in a fixed or suitable place, or relative position; a rank; a row; a grade; especially, a rank or class in society; a group or division of men in the same social or other position; also, a distinct character, kind, or sort; as, the higher or lower orders of society; talent of a high order.

A body of persons having some common honorary distinction or rule of obligation; esp., a body of religious persons or aggregate of convents living under a common rule; as, the Order of the Bath; the Franciscan order.

An ecclesiastical grade or rank, as of deacon, priest, or bishop; the office of the Christian ministry; - often used in the plural; as, to take orders, or to take holy orders, that is, to enter some grade of the ministry.

The disposition of a column and its component parts, and of the entablature resting upon it, in classical architecture; hence (as the column and entablature are the characteristic features of classical architecture) a style or manner of architectural designing.

An assemblage of genera having certain important characters in common; as, the Carnivora and Insectivora are orders of Mammalia.

The placing of words and members in a sentence in such a manner as to contribute to force and beauty or clearness of expression.

Rank; degree; thus, the order of a curve or surface is the same as the degree of its equation.

To put in order; to reduce to a methodical arrangement; to arrange in a series, or with reference to an end. Hence, to regulate; to dispose; to direct; to rule.

To give an order to; to command; as, to order troops to advance.

To give an order for; to secure by an order; as, to order a carriage; to order groceries.

To admit to holy orders; to ordain; to receive into the ranks of the ministry.

To give orders; to issue commands.

(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed;

A degree in a continuum of size or quantity;

Established customary state (especially of society);

Logical or comprehensible arrangement of separate elements;

A condition of regular or proper arrangement;

A legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if issued by a court or judge);

A commercial document used to request someone to supply something in return for payment and providing specifications and quantities;

A formal association of people with similar interests;

A body of rules followed by an assembly

(usually plural) the status or rank or office of a Christian clergyman in an ecclesiastical hierarchy;

A group of person living under a religious rule;

(biology) taxonomic group containing one or more families

A request for food or refreshment (as served in a restaurant or bar etc.);

(architecture) one of original three styles of Greek architecture distinguished by the type of column and entablature used or a style developed from the original three by the Romans

Putting in order;

Give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority;

Make a request for something;

Issue commands or orders for

Bring into conformity with rules or principles or usage; impose regulations;

Bring order to or into;

Place in a certain order;

Appoint to a clerical posts;

Arrange thoughts, ideas, temporal events, etc.;

Assign a rank or rating to;

An order is a request for goods or services, or a command within a hierarchical structure, indicating a broad range of applications.

Placing an order is a step in the buying process, involving a request for goods or services that needs to be accepted and fulfilled.

In writing, an indent signifies a space at the beginning of a text line, used to improve readability and organize content.

Indenting improves a document's readability and helps organize content, making it easier for readers to follow the structure.

Yes, "order" can also refer to commands in military or organizational contexts, as well as arrangements or sequences.

Yes, some orders, especially those issued by courts or formal agreements, can be legally binding.

Choosing not to use indents could be a stylistic decision or based on specific formatting guidelines that prefer alternative methods, such as spacing between paragraphs.

Yes, indents are used in both printed and digital documents to enhance structure and readability.

Not all documents require indents; the use of indents depends on the formatting style and purpose of the document.

Orders are crucial for defining roles, responsibilities, and the flow of operations within hierarchical organizations.

An order often carries an implication of authority or a formal transactional nature, whereas a request may be more casual or optional.

In programming, indenting is important for structuring code, making it more readable and easier to maintain.

By improving the organization and readability of text, indents can make content more engaging and easier to digest for readers.

Orders reflect their transactional, command, or organizational contexts by indicating intent or directive, while indents reflect their communicative purpose by organizing and presenting written content effectively.

While often formal, orders can also be informal, especially in casual or internal business contexts.