indie

indie — adjective

1. describes a business, artist, or creative work that is small in scale, run by in

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a business, artist, or creative work that is small in scale, run by individuals rather than a large corporation, and free from control by a major chain or studio.

Example

Tendai runs an indie record store that only sells vinyl albums by local bands.

attributive: indie + noun describing a small business

The film was produced by an indie studio with no support from a Hollywood giant.

Common collocations
  • indie band
  • indie film
  • indie label
  • indie record store
  • indie game
  • indie publisher
  • indie music
  • indie studio
Synonyms
  • independent

    the original full form; more formal and neutral in tone. An independent bookstore and an indie bookstore mean the same thing, but indie sounds more familiar.

  • alternative

    overlaps in music and film, but alternative emphasises non-mainstream style rather than ownership structure.

  • small-scale

    focuses on size and reach, not ownership. A small-scale bakery is not necessarily an indie one.

  • underground

    stronger connotation of being outside or opposed to the mainstream; not limited to business structure.

Antonyms
  • mainstream

    describes something produced by or appealing to the general public through large corporate channels.

  • corporate

    describes something owned or operated by a large business group.

Grammar Patterns

indie + noun (band, film, label, store, game)

Usage Note

Indie is used almost exclusively before a noun (attributive position) — you say an indie band, not that band is indie. The adjective retains an informal, sometimes nostalgic tone associated with the 1980s–90s alternative music scene.

Common Mistakes

That café is very indie.
That café is an indie coffee shop.
Indie as an adjective is rarely used predicatively (after is/was); it sounds unnatural in most dialects.

indie — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe something outside the corporate mainstream, but they differ in scope. Independent is the broadest and most formal term — any business, school, or artist can be independent regardless of scale. Indie is a casual clipping of independent that strongly suggests a small, self-owned creative enterprise (a record label, film studio, or game developer) with a cultural attitude of authenticity. Alternative overlaps with indie in music and film but emphasises stylistic non-conformity rather than ownership — an alternative rock band might be on a major label. Underground carries a stronger counter-cultural or secretive tone, often implying the audience is small and the scene is hidden from the general public. Examples: 'She started an indie magazine printed on recycled paper.' / 'The underground hip-hop scene rarely gets radio play.'

indie ↗independent ↗alternative ↗underground ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • indie music scene
  • indie game developer
  • indie film festival
  • indie record label

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Indie is a shortened form of independent, which entered English from French indépendant, ultimately from Latin independēns (in- 'not' + dependēre 'to hang from'). The clipped form indie began appearing in the 1940s music industry as a quick way to refer to record labels that operated outside the three major companies of the time. It spread to film, publishing, and gaming in later decades, keeping its core meaning of something small, self-owned, and creatively free.