to make a dent
25
4.0
- idiom
- /meɪk ə dɛnt/
- Clearly, backyard composting could not be relied on to make a dent in the export load of this metropolis.
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Watch on YouTubeThere is going to, this is the decade in which we're going to make a dent in the length of the human life.
- There is going to, this is the decade in which we're going to make a dent in the length of the human life.
- I've used this a ton and I've barely made a dent.
- And I and I really fundamentally believe that we're within striking distance to making a dent in human aging.
- So you want to try to think through, do you have to change the world totally in order to make a dent in the world?
- Returns didn't mean much anymore unless they were huge, as huge returns were needed to make a dent in debt, house payments and so on.
- I didn't start buying expensive watches or cars until I could write checks for them and not just write checks for them, not sweat the check where it didn't make a dent in my savings.
- I can do this like I, I can, I can make a dent in this, in this media, in, in, in this genre because I'm that talented.
- I think, I think I made a dent in him and I'll probably talk to him again and I'll keep going and I, I think he'll think about that.
- I'm certainly not sufficient to make a dent in what an intimate or close relationship needs in terms of respect and compassion and kindness.
- I can't possibly make a dent in my, my profession.
- And I don't know why, but it's just like I don't make a dent in things, which is probably good.
Examples
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So far, they are the only tablets that have made a dent in Apple's near monopoly on tablets.
Blog text (4) -
Few lawsuits are significant enough to make a dent in the company's financial projections.
Blog text (4) -
So you want to try to think through, do you have to change the world totally in order to make a dent in the world?
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So how do such "Charlie Brown Christmas trees" make a dent in global climate change?
Academic text (2001) -
Fact supporting, you know, women in the business really, you know, made a dent in terms of public sentiment.
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Solar, however, has only just begun to make a dent in that mix.
Blog text (12) -
Your achievements not just inspire me, but also so many others to work harder, to be better and to make a dent wherever we can.
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Yet they admit they cannot, even within a philanthropic community, make a dent in the issue of poverty.
Blog text (11) -
And biotechnology is beginning to make a dent in agriculture and in a few industrial chemical processes.
Academic text (1997) -
The charity's new campaign is designed to make a dent in poverty by providing job training to the unemployed.
Synonyms
612
2.8
Cause a clear, positive change in a situation or person
305
3.4
To have a strong effect on someone or something
21
4.6
Gradually make something weaker by repeated small actions
10
4.6
To make someone feel less confident or important
10
6.2
To make a clear change in results or numbers
5
7.9
To make something weaker, like sound or light
Antonyms
How Impactful
51
6.6
478
3.4
25
4.0
∞
1.0
∞
3.0
30
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to have a noticeable impact or reduce something' is directly derivable from 'make' (to cause) combined with 'dent' (a physical indentation/lessening), so the composition yields 'cause a reduction' in a clear metaphorical way. This causative + noun pattern and the simple physical-to-abstract mapping are cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Make a dent comes from the simple image of hitting an object and leaving a small hollow or mark called a dent. That small mark shows you have partly reduced or damaged the surface, so make a dent is used today to mean 'to have a noticeable effect' or 'to reduce something'.