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dent

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A shallow deformation in the surface of an object, produced by an impact.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

dehnt
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈdɛnt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A shallow deformation in the surface of an object, produced by an impact.

  2. An impression in a surface (as made by a blow)

  3. figurative

    A minor effect made upon something.

  4. A type of maize/corn with a relatively soft outer hull, and a soft type of starch that shrinks at maturity to leave an indentation in the surface of the kernel.

  5. by extensioninformal

    A sudden negative change, such as loss, damage, weakening, consumption or diminution, especially one produced by an external force, event or action

verb

  1. transitive

    To impact something, producing a dent.

  2. intransitive

    To develop a dent or dents.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A shallow deformation in the surface of an object, produced by an impact.

Used this way, dent is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use dent

  • “The bicycle dented my car.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

dent corndent rescommunity dentjohn dentyellow dentsmall denthealth dentbig dent

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • dentistnounPerson or profession

    A person qualified to practice dentistry.

  • dentaladjectiveDerived adjective

    Related to A shallow deformation in the surface of an object, produced by an impact.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • dent cornnounCompound term

    Corn whose kernels contain both hard and soft starch and become indented at maturity.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

noun

Sense: shallow deformation in the surface of an object

indent

verb

Sense: to impact something or producing a dent

indent

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.