What does kerning mean?
Kerning is the careful adjustment of the space between letters or characters in printed and digital text. Correct kerning improves the visual rhythm of a typeface, prevents awkward gaps or crowding, and helps headings, logos, and body text look balanced and readable. Designers may adjust a few problem letter pairs manually, while many modern fonts contain built-in kerning instructions that typography software applies automatically. Although general audiences often use the word to mean all forms of letter spacing, kerning has a more specific meaning: it concerns the relationships between particular characters, including potentially problematic pairs such as an uppercase letter beside a lowercase one. The term belongs primarily to the professional vocabulary of typography and graphic design, but understanding it helps explain why seemingly minor changes in spacing can noticeably improve the appearance of text.
nounKerning is the typographic practice of adjusting the space between individual letters or characters to improve readability and visual balance. It can be applied selectively to particular letter pairs or used as part of a font's overall spacing design.
- The adjustment of the space between individual letters or characters in printed or digital text for improved readability, appearance, and visual balance.
"Careful kerning keeps the headings on the page balanced and easy to read."
"The designer adjusted the kerning of the company name to give it a more balanced appearance."
"The typeface has extensive kerning, so most readers will not notice the unusual spacing of individual letter pairs."
Usually uncountable when referring to the practice as a whole; the plural is uncommon and may refer to individual adjustments or sets of adjustments.
"The typographer made several small kernings to the heading."
Kerning is where a typeface earns its typographer: a few carefully measured gaps can make an entire page feel polished.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does kerning come from?
Kerning was formed in English from kern, an older printing term for a projecting piece of metal type, together with the suffix -ing. The word kern is historically related to kernel and ultimately to the same Germanic ancestry as English corn. The specialized typographic meaning developed as printers gained increasingly precise ways to control the appearance of metal type.
How kerning is actually used
A technical term used chiefly in typography, graphic design, publishing, and digital typesetting. It is usually uncountable, and the singular is preferred when referring to the process as a whole.