dent Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an appreciable consequence (especially a lessening)
    • it made a dent in my bank account
  2. noun a depression scratched or carved into a surface
    scratch; slit; prick; incision.
  3. noun an impression in a surface (as made by a blow)
    ding; nick; gouge.
  4. verb make a depression into
    indent.
    • The bicycle dented my car

WordNet

Dent noun
Etymology
A variant of Dint.
Definitions
  1. A stroke; a blow. Obs. "That dent of thunder." Chaucer.
  2. A slight depression, or small notch or hollow, made by a blow or by pressure; an indentation.
    A blow that would have made a dent in a pound of butter. De Quincey.
Dent transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Dented; present participle & verbal noun Denting
Definitions
  1. To make a dent upon; to indent.
    The houses dented with bullets. Macaulay.
Dent noun
Etymology
F., fr. L. dens, dentis, tooth. See Tooth.
Definitions
  1. (Mach.) A tooth, as of a card, a gear wheel, etc. Knight.

Webster 1913