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dent
1[ dent ]
noun
- a hollow or depression in a surface, as from a blow.
- a noticeable effect, especially of reduction:
to leave a dent in one's savings;
a dent in one's pride.
verb (used with object)
- to make a dent in or on; indent:
The impact dented the car's fender.
- to have the effect of reducing or slightly injuring:
The caustic remark dented his ego.
verb (used without object)
- to show dents; become indented:
Tin dents more easily than steel.
- to sink in, making a dent:
Nails dent into metal.
dent
2[ dent ]
noun
- a toothlike projection, as a tooth of a gearwheel.
- Textiles. the space between two wires through which the warp ends are drawn in the reed of a loom.
dent-
3- variant of denti- before a vowel:
dentin.
dent.
4abbreviation for
- dental.
- dentist.
- dentistry.
dent
1/ dɛnt /
noun
- a toothlike protuberance, esp the tooth of a sprocket or gearwheel
- textiles the space between two wires in a loom through which a warp thread is drawn
dent.
2abbreviation for
- dental
- dentistry
dent
3/ dɛnt /
noun
- a hollow or dip in a surface, as one made by pressure or a blow
- an appreciable effect, esp of lessening
a dent in our resources
verb
- to impress or be impressed with a dent or dents
Other Words From
- un·dented adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of dent1
Origin of dent2
Idioms and Phrases
- make a dent in, to show initial progress; pass an initial stage of (work, thought, solving a problem, etc.):
I haven't even made a dent in this pile of work.
- make a dent, Informal. to cause a person to take heed; make an impression:
The doctor told him to stop smoking, but it didn't make a dent.
More idioms and phrases containing dent
see make a dent in .Example Sentences
That wouldn’t make much of a dent in the annual cost of Medicaid’s coverage of its 72 million beneficiaries, which came to about $853 billion last year.
That barely made a dent in the backlog, however.
Paul's venture into the sport - and his brashness - has been met with dismay by those who feel a YouTuber does not deserve the opportunity to dent former Tyson's boxing legacy.
But Los Angeles now has a substantial infusion of continuing, dedicated funding to make a dent in homelessness.
Observers expect a multi-cornered contest in the general election, which may ultimately dent the chances of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's party, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, enacting ambitious reforms.
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Related Words
Words That Use Dent-
What does dent- mean?
Dent- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “tooth.” It is used in some medical and scientific terms, including in dentistry.
Dent- comes from the Latin dēns, meaning “tooth.” Greek words for “tooth” are odṓn, source of the combining forms odonto- and -odont, and odoús, source of the combining form –odus.
The word dent, as in “a hollow or depression in a surface,” does not share a root with the combining form dent-. Learn where dent comes from at our entry for the word.
What are variants of dent-?
Dent- is a variant of dento-, which loses its -o– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use dento- article.
Another, more common, variant of dent-, especially before a form with a Latin root, is denti-, as in dentiform.
Examples of dent-
A word you may have come across related to dent- is dentist, from the French dentiste. A dentist is “a person whose profession is dentistry, the prevention and treatment of diseases and malformations of the teeth, gums, and oral cavity.”
We know dent- refers to “tooth,” so what does the -ist portion of the word mean? The suffix -ist denotes “a person who practices or is concerned with something.” A dentist is literally a “tooth-ist”!
What are some words that use or are related to the combining form dent-?
What are some other forms that dent- may be commonly confused with?
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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