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| dent [ dent ] |
verb (past and past participle dent·ed, present participle dent·ing, 3rd person present singular dents) |
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| Definition: |
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1. transitive and intransitive verb make depression in something by hitting: to make a shallow depression in the surface of something by hitting it or putting pressure on it, or receive a depression through pressure
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2. transitive verb harm something abstract: to do nonphysical, usually minor, damage to something
  dented their championship hopes
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noun (plural dents) |
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| Definition: |
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1. area in depressed surface: a shallow depression in the surface of something that is made by hitting it or putting pressure on it
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2. advance: progress in reaching a goal
(
informal
)
make a dent in the backlog
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3. reduction: a reduction in an amount of something such as resources
(
informal
)
a dent in the budget
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4. nonphysical damage: nonphysical, usually minor, damage, e.g. to somebody's reputation or pride
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| [13th century. Variant of dint] |
