dent
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 →
2) (verb) To make a dent in something. tree →
3) A reduction: «make a dent in» means reduce something a bit. tree →
4) (verb) To harm or weaken, such as someone's confidence or pride. tree →
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 →
- Don't buy the tin with the big dent. tree →
- He dented his bike when he fell off. tree →
- We've barely made a dent in this huge pizza. tree →
- Losing the match dented their confidence. tree →
- The savings made a big dent in the cost of the holiday. tree →
- There's a dent in my water bottle from when I dropped it. tree →
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.
- Do not eat from a can that is swollen or badly dented along its seams.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «dent» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.