---
name: Hanging indent
slug: hanging-indent
category: typography
status: published
created: 2026-08-21T00:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-08-21T00:00:00.000Z
definition: A paragraph whose first line starts further left than the rest, so
  the following lines are indented under it.
aliases:
  - name: outdent
  - name: negative indent
  - name: reverse indent
tags:
  - editorial
  - spacing
relations:
  contrastWith:
    - first-line-indent
  variantOf: []
  partOf: []
  seeAlso:
    - description-list
implementations: []
sources:
  - title: "Typography Terms: Glossary (NN/g)"
    url: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/typography-terms-ux/
demo: inline
exhibit: false
useWhen: setting bibliographies, definitions, or list labels
---

A hanging indent turns a paragraph inside out. Instead of pushing the first line
in, it leaves the first line where it is and pushes everything after it across,
so the opening words hang out into the margin on their own. The names for it all
describe the same shape from different angles: outdent, negative indent, reverse
indent. In CSS it is one declaration and its opposite, a positive inline padding
on the block and a negative `text-indent` of the same size, which cancel on the
first line and apply to every line after it.

The reason to do it is scanning rather than decoration. A bibliography is read by
hunting down the left edge for an author's surname, a glossary by hunting for a
headword, a contract by hunting for a clause number. Hanging the first line puts
exactly that word on a clean vertical edge with nothing in front of it, and
indents the material you are not currently hunting through out of the way. It is
the same instinct behind a [description list](/description-list) and behind a
bulleted [list](/list), and browsers already give you the effect for free there:
`list-style-position: outside`, the default, hangs the marker out to the left of
the text block for precisely this reason.

The opposite move is a first-line indent, which pushes the opening line in
instead of out. They are worth keeping straight because they answer different
questions. A first-line indent says "a new paragraph starts here" inside running
prose, which is why it and a blank line between paragraphs are alternatives
rather than partners: doing both marks the same boundary twice. A hanging indent
says "a new entry starts here" in a list of things you look up, and it is nearly
useless in continuous prose, where nobody is hunting for anything. A
[drop cap](/drop-cap) is a third answer to the first question, decorative where
the indent is quiet.

Two mechanical notes. The negative `text-indent` has to be paired with padding of
the same size or the first line simply hangs out of its container, where it will
be clipped by anything with `overflow: hidden` and will collide with whatever is
beside it. And write the pair in logical properties, `padding-inline-start` with
`text-indent`, so the whole shape flips with the writing direction rather than
stranding your indent on the wrong side under
[RTL mirroring](/rtl-mirroring).