dint

American  

[dint] / dɪnt /

noun

1. force; power.

   By dint of hard work she became head of the company.

   Synonyms:

   struggle, exertion, strain, effort

2. a dent.

3. Archaic. a blow; stroke.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make a dent or dents in.

2. to impress or drive in with force.

dint British  

/ dɪnt /

noun

1. by means or use of

   by dint of hard work

2. archaic a blow or a mark made by a blow

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verb

1. (tr) to mark with dints

noun

1. a variant of dent 1

dint Idioms  

1. see by dint of.

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Other Word Forms

• dintless adjective

Etymology

Origin of dint

before 900; Middle English; Old English dynt; cognate with Old Norse dyntr

Example Sentences

"One year I paid off £4,300, but the interest was £3,600," he says, "so in reality the only dint I made in that was £700."

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

“Home Alone” certainly made Culkin a star, which was its intention, and O’Hara, by dint of John Hughes’ characterization, an able partner.

From Salon • Feb. 4, 2026

Simply by dint of their tablet-like heft, dictionaries make a claim for longevity and authority.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

By dint of pandemic pauses and far-flung locales around the U.K.’s Cotswolds and on the Welsh Borders, the lineup managed to quietly ferment and realize some of that long-ago unknown magical mystery.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2025

I dint see my mother or father or my lit- tel sister Norma for a long long long time.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes