-
- To save this word, you'll need to log in.
indentured servant
noun
: a person who signs and is bound by indentures to work for another for a specified time especially in return for payment of travel expenses and maintenance
Examples of indentured servant in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In every direction are street signs that bear the names of the town’s 19th century settlers, who were freeborn Black citizens, the formerly enslaved and indentured servants.
—Donna M. Owens, Baltimore Sun, 16 June 2023
The outline represents Grace Wisher, a free Black child who was Pickersgill’s indentured servant and apprentice.
—Colin Campbell, baltimoresun.com, 26 Aug. 2021
The tensions lie in the rancor between the colony’s Puritan community and the Anglican couple Eleanor and John Billington, who until recently were indentured servants.
—Samantha Harvey, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2020
At the time, the tobacco economy relied on white and black indentured servants with finite contracts and some rights under the law.
—Erin Blakemore, National Geographic, 8 Nov. 2019
No people or animals other than birds lived on the archipelago until Portuguese explorers discovered it in the early 15th century and populated it with minor gentry, indentured servants, slaves, and prisoners given the choice between jail and exile.
—Trish Lorenz, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Feb. 2020
The laws never went into effect, and under her reign, the nobility increased its power over their indentured servants.
—Erin Blakemore, National Geographic, 1 Nov. 2019
Mattai’s multimedia objects, which examine the present-day legacy of her family’s past as indentured servants in Guyana, is thoughtful, colorful and complicated.
—John Wenzel, The Know, 24 Dec. 2019
As late as 1964, Bo and Lake Giles were still toiling like indentured servants.
—CBS News, 23 Dec. 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'indentured servant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1723, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of indentured servant was
in 1723
Dictionary Entries Near indentured servant
Cite this Entry
“Indentured servant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indentured%20servant. Accessed 12 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
indentured servant
noun
: a person who signs and is bound by indentures to work for another for a specified time especially in return for payment of travel expenses, food, and shelter
More from Merriam-Webster on indentured servant
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share