kerning

noun

kern·​ing ˈkər-niŋ 

plural kernings

1

typography : the act or result of kerning characters

Good kerning can enhance a font's appearance.

2

typography : the distance between a kerned pair of adjacent characters in a line of composed text

increased the kerning between the f and the period

a kerning of +100

Adobe typefaces tend to have between 500 and 1000 kerning pairs. The … font that you downloaded for free from the Web may not have any.

—Nigel French

broadly : letterspacing, tracking

Word History

Etymology

from gerund of kern entry 3

First Known Use

1980, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing kerning

• kerning pairs