From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdentdent1 /dent/ noun [countable] 1 HOLEa hollow area in the surface of something, usually made by something hitting itdent in There was a large dent in the passenger door.2 REDUCEa reduction in the amount of somethingdent in The trip made a big dent in our savings. Eight years of effort have hardly put a dent in drug trafficking.
Examples from the Corpus
dent• It rapidly became evident that this clinic could not make even a dent in the problem.• Emma backed into a tree, leaving a dent in the car's rear bumper.• Churchill's stroke in June 1953 put a dent in the working of the Government.• That would put a dent in his omnipotence.• Young, holding the ball a little too long, came through the sacks without a dent.• As they try to cut stocks, this is likely to make a big dent in orders to manufacturing industry and importers.• There was a large dent in the panel and a scratch in the paint.• The picture frame came with scratches, dents and marks that make it look old.dent in• There's a big dent in the side of my car.made a ... dent• Among most it has barely made a dent.• They barely made a dent in the vast area they were supposed to cover.• Take heart: the green consumer movement has made a significant dent in manufacturing practices over a very short time.• These strategies are commonsensical and have made a large dent in the fertility of many nations.• At the same time, rising exports have made a sizable dent in the trade deficit.• Now Sakata, with its new car, Glory, had at least made a dent in the numbers of unemployed.• The Wolfies have been around for almost ten years but have never made any major dents on the charts.• But that only made a dent in what had to be done.dentdent2 verb 1 HOLE[intransitive, transitive] if you dent something, or if it dents, you hit or press it so that its surface is bent inwards No one was injured, but the car was scratched and dented.2 HARM/BE BAD FOR[transitive] to damage or harm something The scandal has dented his reputation.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
dent• Baseball's image was dented by the labor dispute.• And he classed the strike which dented his old club's promotion challenge as one of the most important of his career.• Moving this took 15 trips in my ancient Renault, which struggled under loads that threatened to dent its roof bars.• Some idiot dented my car door last night.• She'd dented that enormous ego of his, hadn't she?• This rather dents the claim that good is completely simple.• He accidentally dented the garage door, trying to reverse in.Origin dent1 (1200-1300) dint 