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# dent

«dent» in Mova's school dictionary: **A small hollow made in a hard surface when something hits…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a dent, dents); verb (dent, dents, dented, denting)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A small hollow made in a hard surface when something hits or presses it: «a dent in the car door». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dent/#m1)

2) (verb) To make a dent in something. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dent/#m2)

3) A reduction: «make a dent in» means reduce something a bit. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dent/#m3)

4) (verb) To harm or weaken, such as someone's confidence or pride. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dent/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life cars, tins and bikes get dents. «Make a dent in your homework» means get some of it done. In stories a «dented pride» means a character feels hurt after losing. Phrases: «a dent in», «make a dent in», «put a dent in», «dent someone's confidence».

### examples

- The ball left a dent in the car door. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dent/#x1)
- Don't buy the tin with the big dent. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dent/#x2)
- He dented his bike when he fell off. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dent/#x3)
- We've barely made a dent in this huge pizza. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dent/#x4)
- Losing the match dented their confidence. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dent/#x5)
- The savings made a big dent in the cost of the holiday. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dent/#x6)
- There's a dent in my water bottle from when I dropped it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dent/#x7)

### note

Countable noun. Past «dented». Do not confuse with «dentist» or «dental» (about teeth); they come from a different root. In maths, «make a dent in 100 jobs» means do some, not all.

### In the corpora

- [une dent ("DAHN") is a tooth; j'ai mal aux dents means my teeth hurt.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/french/16-the-body/12/)
- [Do not eat from a can that is swollen or badly dented along its seams.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/technology/3-crisps-bread-cereal-and-dairy/17/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «dent» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/dent/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.