dent

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A depression in a surface made by pressure or a blow: a dent in the side of a car.
2. n. Informal A significant, usually diminishing effect or impression: The loss put a dent in the team's confidence.
3. n. Informal Meaningful progress; headway: at least made a dent in the work.
4. v. To make a dent in.
5. v. To become dented: a fender that dents easily.
6. n. See tooth.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A stroke; a blow.
2. n. Force; weight; dint.
3. n. a hollow mark made by a blow or by pressure; a small hollow or depression on the surface of a solid or a plastic body; an indented impression; a dint.
4. Marked by a dent or impression; dented; only in the phrase dent corn, Indian corn which has a depression in each kernel.
5. To make a dent of small hollow in; mark with dents or impressions.
6. To aim a denting or effective blow.
7. n. A notch; an indentation.
8. n. A tooth of a comb, metallic brush, or card.
9. n. A salient tooth or knob in the works of a lock.
10. n. A tooth of a gear-wheel.
11. n. A cane or wire of the reed frame in a weavers' loom.
12. To notch; indent.
13. n. An abbreviation of dental;
14. n. of dentist;
15. n. of dentistry.

Wiktionary

1. n. A shallow deformation in the surface of something produced by impact.
2. n. The state of something's having been partially consumed.
3. n. An effect, a change caused by some force.
4. v. To impact something, producing a dent.
5. v. To develop a dent or dents.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A stroke; a blow.
2. n. A slight depression, or small notch or hollow, made by a blow or by pressure; an indentation.
3. v. To make a dent upon; to indent.
4. n. A tooth, as of a card, a gear wheel, etc.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. an impression in a surface (as made by a blow)
2. n. an appreciable consequence (especially a lessening)
3. n. a depression scratched or carved into a surface
4. v. make a depression into