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dent
1[dent]
noun
a hollow or depression in a surface, as from a blow.
a noticeable effect, especially of reduction.
to leave a dent in one's savings;
a dent in one's pride.
verb (used with object)
to make a dent in or on; indent.
The impact dented the car's fender.
to have the effect of reducing or slightly injuring.
The caustic remark dented his ego.
verb (used without object)
to show dents; become indented.
Tin dents more easily than steel.
to sink in, making a dent.
Nails dent into metal.
dent
2[dent]
noun
a toothlike projection, as a tooth of a gearwheel.
Textiles.the space between two wires through which the warp ends are drawn in the reed of a loom.
dent-
3variant of denti- before a vowel.
dentin.
dent.
4abbreviation
dental.
dentist.
dentistry.
dent
1/ ɛԳ /
noun
a hollow or dip in a surface, as one made by pressure or a blow
an appreciable effect, esp of lessening
a dent in our resources
verb
to impress or be impressed with a dent or dents
dent
2/ ɛԳ /
noun
a toothlike protuberance, esp the tooth of a sprocket or gearwheel
textiles the space between two wires in a loom through which a warp thread is drawn
dent.
3abbreviation
dental
dentistry
Other Word Forms
- undented adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of dent1
Origin of dent2
Idioms and Phrases
make a dent in, to show initial progress; pass an initial stage of (work, thought, solving a problem, etc.).
I haven't even made a dent in this pile of work.
make a dent, to cause a person to take heed; make an impression.
The doctor told him to stop smoking, but it didn't make a dent.
Example Sentences
Even the bombings by the Islamist armed group al-Shabab - whose fighters tend to target plush hotels often occupied by politicians - does not dent the enthusiasm of the Somali Engineers Association.
But the price-gouging didn’t dent my appreciation for a season that reminded me of the privilege of being in the room where the theatrical magic happens.
After three overs Dawson had 3-11 but those figures were dented slightly by two fours at the start of his fourth.
A rise in informal, untraceable cash transfers and a dent in India's most stable source of external financing.
Sadali said that despite feeling short-changed, it had not dented his excitement for the tour.
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Related Words
When To Use
Dent- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “tooth.” It is used in some medical and scientific terms, including in dentistry.Dent- comes from the Latin ŧԲ, meaning “tooth.” Greek words for “tooth” are ǻṓn, source of the combining forms odonto- and -odont, and ǻú, source of the combining form -odus.The word dent, as in "a hollow or depression in a surface," does not share a root with the combining form dent-. Learn where dent comes from at our entry for the word. are variants of dent-?Dent- is a variant of dento-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use dento- article.Another, more common, variant of dent-, especially before a form with a Latin root, is denti-, as in dentiform.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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