dent

dent

noun

Definition of DENT

1

a sunken area forming a separate space <there was a big dent in the car's hood where something had hit it>

Synonyms cavity, concavity, dent, depression, dint, hollow, indentation, indenture, pit, recess

Related Words burrow, cave, cavern, ditch, excavation, furrow, groove, gutter, trench, trough; basin, bowl, valley; alcove, cleft, niche, nook, opening, recess, socket; alveolus, dimple, gouge, impression, imprint, notch, pocket; borehole, chuckhole, crater, posthole, pothole, sinkhole, wallow, water hole, well; abyss, chasm, gulf, vacuity, vacuum, void

Near Antonyms hill, mound, rise; bump, bunch, hump, lump, pimple, swell, swelling, tumor

Antonyms bulge, camber, convexity, jut, projection, protrusion, protuberance

2

the amount by which something is lessened <a little belt-tightening would at least make a small dent in our credit-card debt>

Synonyms abatement, decline, decrement, dent, depletion, depression, diminishment, diminution, drop, drop-off, fall, falloff, loss, reduction, shrinkage, step-down

Related Words deduction, subtraction; downturn, slip, slump; curtailment, cut, cutback, retrenchment, shortening

Near Antonyms accretion, accrual, accumulation, addition, supplement; continuation, extension; upswing, uptrend, upturn

Antonyms boost, enlargement, gain, increase, increment, raise, rise, step-up, uptick