make/put a dent

idiom

: to decrease something slightly or to make something somewhat weaker

We tried our best to fix the problem, but nothing we did seems to have made a dent.

—often + in

It's going to take more than a new law to make a dent in the city's drug crime.

a vacation that won't put too big a dent in your wallet

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Those eight years in Israel didn’t seem to make a dent in his insatiable need for the spotlight. —Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 May 2023

The bill calls for work requirements for Medicaid, food stamps, and cash assistance programs—which would barely make a dent in U.S. debt. —Tori Otten, The New Republic, 17 May 2023

Nashef’s hopes his high-efficiency material can make a dent in the sector’s dirty wastewater problem. —Rebecca Cairns, CNN, 21 Apr. 2023

Does your company have the ad budget to make a dent in the digital space this year? —Yec, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2023

Nevertheless, on that Thursday morning, law enforcement attempted to make a dent. —Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2023

But even so, New Hampshire voters are accustomed to seeing candidates duke it out on the debate stage, which could make a dent in Trump’s popularity, Shrader said. —Ken Tran, USA TODAY, 28 Apr. 2023

The storms, which will draw plenty of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, could dump enough rain to make a dent in the region’s ongoing drought while disrupting outdoor plans. —Dan Stillman, Washington Post, 28 Apr. 2023

But residents say the pipeline would only make a dent in truck traffic there, and worry that more construction will only further cement the facility’s place in the community. —Emily Alvarenga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2023

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