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

Examples of make/put a dent in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Patubo said last year’s unprecedented storms in the area put a dent in business. Mae Anderson, Quartz, 19 Mar. 2024 The struggle to put a dent in homelessness, despite a flood of public spending in recent years, has only stoked public frustration over encampments and jarring scenes of human suffering on display on city streets and parks countywide. Ethan Varian, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024 Ben Amadasun, Netflix’s VP of content in the Middle East and Africa, also counseled patience for companies trying to make a dent in the African market. Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024 And for reasons Tellawi struggles to understand, Wizards home games barely make a dent. Ashraf Khalil, Fortune, 4 Mar. 2024 The pastor doubted that approach on its own would make a dent in the country’s daily death toll. Danielle Paquette, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024 Caveats Lowered inflation rates don’t make a dent in what consumers pay now. Jonathan Lansner, Orange County Register, 13 Feb. 2024 After shaking up the music world, Snoop and Dre are looking to make a dent in the spirits industry with help from record executive powerhouse Jimmy Iovine, who is an investor in the endeavor. Michael Saponara, Billboard, 13 Feb. 2024 Workers recording themselves getting laid off, posting videos on TikTok in somber trend 04:58 Yet measured against the nation's vast labor force, the recent layoffs haven't been significant enough to make a dent in the overall job market. Kate Gibson, CBS News, 2 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'make/put a dent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Make/put a dent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/make%2Fput%20a%20dent. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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