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View synonyms for dent

dent

1

[ dent ]

noun

  1. a hollow or depression in a surface, as from a blow.
  2. a noticeable effect, especially of reduction:

    to leave a dent in one's savings;

    a dent in one's pride.



verb (used with object)

  1. to make a dent in or on; indent:

    The impact dented the car's fender.

  2. to have the effect of reducing or slightly injuring:

    The caustic remark dented his ego.

verb (used without object)

  1. to show dents; become indented:

    Tin dents more easily than steel.

  2. to sink in, making a dent:

    Nails dent into metal.

dent

2

[ dent ]

noun

  1. a toothlike projection, as a tooth of a gearwheel.
  2. Textiles. the space between two wires through which the warp ends are drawn in the reed of a loom.

dent-

3
  1. variant of denti- before a vowel:

    dentin.

dent.

4

abbreviation for

  1. dental.
  2. dentist.
  3. dentistry.

dent

1

/ dɛnt /

noun

  1. a toothlike protuberance, esp the tooth of a sprocket or gearwheel
  2. textiles the space between two wires in a loom through which a warp thread is drawn
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dent.

2

abbreviation for

  1. dental
  2. dentistry
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

dent

3

/ dɛnt /

noun

  1. a hollow or dip in a surface, as one made by pressure or a blow
  2. an appreciable effect, esp of lessening

    a dent in our resources

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to impress or be impressed with a dent or dents
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Words From

  • un·dented adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of dent1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English dint, dent, dunt “blow of a weapon; stroke of a sword”; dint

Origin of dent2

First recorded in 1545–55; from Middle French, from Latin dent- (stem of dēns ) tooth
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Word History and Origins

Origin of dent1

C16: from French: tooth

Origin of dent2

C13 (in the sense: a stroke, blow): variant of dint
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. 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.

  2. 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 .
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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.

From BBC

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.

From BBC

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Related Words

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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?

Break it down!

The combining form -algia means “pain.” With this in mind, what is dentalgia?

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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