1
: a depression or hollow made by a blow or by pressure
2
: an appreciable impression or effect often made against resistance
hasn't made a dent in the problem
specifically
: a weakening or lessening effect
costs that have made a dent in the budget
Examples of dent in a Sentence
Verb
I'm afraid I dented the wall pretty badly when I was hammering in that nail.
Many of the cans were badly dented.
Some types of metal dent more easily than others.
The team's confidence has been dented by a recent series of losses.
Noun (1)
there was a big dent in the car's hood where something had hit it
a little belt-tightening would at least make a small dent in our credit-card debt
Recent Examples on the Web
USA Today, 17 May 2025
Trump’s unprecedented actions and policy flip-flops have dented U.S. credibility and confidence in its assets, and this could still result in global fund managers investing less in the U.S. markets in favor of others, explained Vasu Menon, OCBC’s managing director of the investment strategy team.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 16 May 2025
Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
But something as simple as stacking the bricks a different way could put a significant dent in that pollution, according to a new study of over 275 kilns published in Science by Maithel and his colleagues.
—Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dent
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Expectations for a major breakthrough, already low, were dented further on Thursday when Trump said there would be no movement without a meeting between himself and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
—USA Today, 17 May 2025
Trump’s unprecedented actions and policy flip-flops have dented U.S. credibility and confidence in its assets, and this could still result in global fund managers investing less in the U.S. markets in favor of others, explained Vasu Menon, OCBC’s managing director of the investment strategy team.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 16 May 2025
Noun
The question now is, could the union’s commercials contracts, if ratified, make a dent on future negotiations?
—Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
But something as simple as stacking the bricks a different way could put a significant dent in that pollution, according to a new study of over 275 kilns published in Science by Maithel and his colleagues.
—Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 18 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dent
Cite this Entry
“Dent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dent. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dent
1 of 2 verb1
: to make a dent in or on
2
: to become marked by a dent
dent
2 of 2 noun1
: a notch or hollow made by a blow or by pressure
2
a
: an impression or effect made usually against resistance
that purchase made a big dent in our savings
b
: noticeable progress
made a dent in our pile of work
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share