dent

Etymology 1

From Middle English dent, dente, dint (“a blow; strike; dent”), from Old English dynt (“blow, strike, the mark or noise of a blow”), from Proto-Germanic *duntiz (“a blow”). Akin to Old Norse dyntr (“dint”). Doublet of dint.

noun

1. A shallow deformation in the surface of an object, produced by an impact.
   The crash produced a dent in the left side of the car.
2. (figurative) A minor impact or effect made upon something.
   to make a dent
   "Case Of You" (#67, 1980), a single on the Scotti Brothers label, was Frank's first chart dent. 1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, page 392
   The transitoriness perhaps makes viral content the most representative form of culture in the twenty-first century: an era of vast quantities, deep specificity, and breakneck speed, where few individual artifacts, artworks, or conventions leave a dent in society or bend the curve of history. 2022, W. David Marx, chapter 10, in Status and Culture, Viking
3. A type of maize/corn with a relatively soft outer hull, and a soft type of starch that shrinks at maturity to leave an indentation in the surface of the kernel.
4. (by extension, informal) A sudden negative change, such as loss, damage, weakening, consumption or diminution, especially one produced by an external force, event or action
   That purchase put a bit of a dent in my wallet.
   Andy Carroll's first goals since his £35m move to Liverpool put a dent in Manchester City's Champions League hopes as they were emphatically swept aside at Anfield. April 11, 2011, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 3 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport

verb

1. (transitive) To impact something, producing a dent.
2. (intransitive) To develop a dent or dents.
   Copper is soft and dents easily.

Etymology 2

From French dent, from Latin dēns, dentis (“tooth”). Doublet of dens and tooth.

noun

1. (engineering) A tooth, as of a card, a gear wheel, etc.
2. (weaving) A slot or a wire in a reed