make/put a dent
idiom
: to decrease something slightly or to make something somewhat weaker
We tried our best to fix the problem, but nothing we did seems to have made a dent.
—often + inIt's going to take more than a new law to make a dent in the city's drug crime.
a vacation that won't put too big a dent in your wallet
Examples of make/put a dent in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Storm chances later this week put a dent in temperatures.
—
Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 July 2025
Removing the dye could make a dent in decreasing chronic medical conditions such as cancer and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
—Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pantheon Books (@pantheonbooks)
And popular meager reforms that allocated more funding to police — like adopting the use of body cameras, providing additional training, or new oversight bodies — have failed to make a dent in police violence.
—Sandy Hudson, refinery29.com, 9 July 2025
That’s more than 600 times the cost of an average American wedding—which the wedding site The Knot puts at $33,000—but won’t exactly make a dent in Bezos’ estimated $237 billion fortune.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for make/put a dent
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Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 July 2025
Removing the dye could make a dent in decreasing chronic medical conditions such as cancer and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
—Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pantheon Books (@pantheonbooks)
And popular meager reforms that allocated more funding to police — like adopting the use of body cameras, providing additional training, or new oversight bodies — have failed to make a dent in police violence.
—Sandy Hudson, refinery29.com, 9 July 2025
That’s more than 600 times the cost of an average American wedding—which the wedding site The Knot puts at $33,000—but won’t exactly make a dent in Bezos’ estimated $237 billion fortune.
—Danielle Chemtob, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for make/put a dent
Cite this Entry
“Make/put a dent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/make%2Fput%20a%20dent. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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