1. the part of a printed letter that extends beyond its body
Usage: typography
2. a lightly armed foot soldier
Usage: archaic; Irish history

1. to adjust the spacing between letters in typesetting
Usage: typography

Examples

• The designer adjusted the kern between the letters to improve readability.
• Modern software can automatically kern text for better appearance.
• The letter ‘f’ has a kern that extends over adjacent characters.
• She learned to kern headlines manually in typography class.
• The ancient Irish kerns were known for their mobility in battle.
• Professional typographers carefully kern each letter pair.
• The kern of the italic ‘j’ overlapped with the next letter.