indentured

[ in-den-cherd ]

adjective

1. bound by or occurring under a written contract or formal agreement, especially to work for another:

   The five indentured electrical apprentices of the second-year class were sworn into the union on Thursday.

   Born in Belfast in 1949, he studied art while serving an indentured apprenticeship at a shipyard.

2. relating to, done by, or being an indentured servant:

   Molly Welsh, an Englishwoman sentenced to indentured servitude in 17th-century Maryland, married an African slave named Bannaka.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of indenture ( def ).

Other Words From

• un·in·den·tured adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of indentured¹

indenture + -ed ²

Example Sentences

“Obviously the banjo’s got African roots too. Country music came from people in the South and Appalachia, slaves and indentured servants from Europe, each gathering and trading stories.”

From Los Angeles Times

But the early modern economies in sugar, tobacco and gold generated empire-building profit for Europe and the early U.S. by means of enslavement and indentured servitude.

From Salon

They and their families are expendable indentured servants on a rock enrobed in perpetual darkness.

From Salon

To me, indentured wealth feels like something that should be disbanded.

From Los Angeles Times

That option obviously doesn't exist in the middle of the ocean — or, for that matter, even in countries like Indonesia, where indentured servitude still exists.

From Salon