Dent - English meaning

verb

Separate or cause to separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain.

Usage examples:

The branch broke with a loud snap

noun

An interruption of continuity or uniformity.

Usage examples:

The magazine has been published without a break since 1950

noun

Former term for breaking cart.

noun

The state or quality of being concave.

Usage examples:

The concavity of her stomach

noun

The quality of curving in, or an object or surface that curves in

Usage examples:

The valley looks utterly serene now - a spacious concavity lying between pine-clad peaks., there is…

noun

A large bowl-shaped cavity in the ground or on a celestial object, typically one caused by an explosion or the impact of a meteorite.

Usage examples:

The blast left a crater in the car park

verb

Form a crater in (the ground or a planet).

Usage examples:

Pilots returned to the airfields to crater the runways

proper noun

A small and faint southern constellation (the cup), between hydra and leo, said to represent the goblet of apollo.

verb

Cause severe and disabling damage to; deprive of the ability to function normally.

Usage examples:

Developing countries are crippled by their debts

noun

A person with a severe limitation of a specified kind.

Usage examples:

An emotional cripple

verb

Deprive of the use of a limb, especially a leg

verb

Compress or squeeze forcefully so as to break, damage, or distort in shape.

Usage examples:

The front of his car was crushed in the collision

noun

A crowd of people pressed closely together.

Usage examples:

A number of youngsters fainted in the crush

verb

To press something very hard so that it is broken or its shape is destroyed

Usage examples:

The package got crushed in the mail., her car was crushed by a falling tree., i was crushed because…

verb

Make an opening, incision, or wound in (something) with a sharp-edged tool or object.

Usage examples:

He cut his toe on a sharp stone

noun

A stroke or blow given by a sharp-edged implement or by a whip or cane.

Usage examples:

He could skin an animal with a single cut of the knife

verb

Separate with or as if with an instrument

noun

Physical harm that impairs the value, usefulness, or normal function of something.

Usage examples:

Bombing caused extensive damage to the town

verb

Inflict physical harm on (something) so as to impair its value, usefulness, or normal function.

Usage examples:

The car was badly damaged in the accident

verb

To harm or spoil something

Usage examples:

Many buildings were badly damaged by the earthquake., news reports damaged the senator’s reputation…

noun

The action of deducting or subtracting something.

Usage examples:

The dividend will be paid without deduction of tax

noun

The process of learning something by considering a general set of facts and thinking about how something specific relates to them

Usage examples:

[ c ] sherlock holmes was famous for making clever deductions., [ c ] new tax regulations would cut…

noun

The process of taking away an amount or a part of something from a total, or the amount that is taken

Usage examples:

The interest you receive will be paid after deduction of tax., the tax and social security authorit…

noun

Reduction in the number or quantity of something.

Usage examples:

The depletion of the ozone layer

noun

A reduction in something, or the act of reducing it

Usage examples:

Increased expenditure has caused a depletion in capital., when stock markets crashed the life funds…

noun

Feelings of severe despondency and dejection.

Usage examples:

Self-doubt creeps in and that swiftly turns to depression

noun

A feeling of sadness, or medical a type of mental illness that causes long periods of unhappiness

Usage examples:

I’m just beginning to get over the depression from losing my job., medical tiredness, loss of appet…

noun

A recession (= time of low economic activity, when investments lose value, businesses fail and people lose their jobs) that lasts for a long period of time, usually several years

Usage examples:

Plunge/slide into depression the thirties saw the world plunge into depression., the wall street cr…

verb

End the existence of (something) by damaging or attacking it.

Usage examples:

The room had been destroyed by fire

verb

To damage something, esp. in a violent way, so that it can no longer be used or no longer exists

Usage examples:

You can use a shredder to destroy old bank statements., losing his job seemed to completely destroy…

verb

To damage something so badly that it cannot be used

Usage examples:

Most of the old part of the city was destroyed by bombs during the war., completely/totally destroy…

verb

Make or become less.

Usage examples:

The new law is expected to diminish the government's chances

verb

To reduce or be reduced in size or importance

Usage examples:

[ i ] the threat of inflation is diminishing., [ t ] a single-payer system would diminish the burea…

verb

To reduce or be reduced in size, importance, or value

Usage examples:

If consumers start losing confidence, it will diminish demand for household goods., investors can d…

noun

A small depression in the flesh, either one that exists permanently or one that forms in the cheeks when one smiles.

Usage examples:

This month i have memorized the curve of your smile, the dimples in your cheeks and forehead, the p…

verb

Produce a dimple or dimples in the surface of.

Usage examples:

Rain began to fall, dimpling the water

noun

A small hollow place, esp. in a person’s face and usually considered attractive

Usage examples:

He has a dimple in his chin., dimpled cheeks

noun

A dent or hollow in a surface.

Usage examples:

The soft dints at the top of a coconut

verb

Mark (a surface) with dents or hollows.

Usage examples:

The metal was dull and dinted

noun

If something is done by dint of something else, it is done as a result of that thing

Usage examples:

She achieved her success by dint of hard work.

verb

Put or let something down quickly or briefly in or into (liquid).

Usage examples:

He dipped a brush in the paint

noun

A brief swim.

Usage examples:

They cooled off by taking a dip in the pool

abbreviation

Document image processing, a system for the digital storage and retrieval of documents as scanned images.

verb

(of wind, water, or other natural agents) gradually wear away (soil, rock, or land).

Usage examples:

The cliffs on this coast have been eroded by the sea

verb

To weaken or damage something by taking away parts of it gradually, or to become weaker in this way

Usage examples:

[ t ] budget cuts could further erode the benefit package provided for by the contract.

verb

To slowly reduce or destroy something, or to be slowly reduced or destroyed

Usage examples:

Erode value/profits/margins sudden movements in exchange and interest rates can erode profit margin…

noun

A hollow place in a solid body or surface.

Usage examples:

The dog had dug a hole in the ground

verb

Make a hole or holes in.

Usage examples:

A fuel tank was holed by the attack and a fire started

noun

An empty space in an object, usually with an opening to the object's surface, or an opening that goes completely through an object

Usage examples:

Dig a hole we dug a hole and planted the tree., hole in my jumper's got a hole in it., drill a hole…

adjective

Having a hole or empty space inside.

Usage examples:

A hollow metal tube

noun

A hole or depression in something.

Usage examples:

A hollow at the base of a large tree

verb

Form by making a hole.

Usage examples:

A tunnel was hollowed out in a mountain range

verb

Weaken or damage (something, especially a faculty or function).

Usage examples:

A noisy job could permanently impair their hearing

verb

To damage or weaken something so that it is less effective

Usage examples:

Lack of sleep impaired her ability to think clearly., [ c ] the law bans discrimination against any…

verb

To spoil something or make it weaker so that it is less effective

Usage examples:

A recurring knee injury may have impaired his chances of winning the tournament.

verb

Start (a line of text) or position (a block of text) further from the margin than the main part of the text.

Usage examples:

Type a paragraph of text and indent the first line

noun

An official order or requisition for goods.

Usage examples:

Hawthorn refused to approve the indent for silk scarves

verb

Make a dent or impression in (something).

Usage examples:

Use a stylus to indent the leather

noun

The action of indenting or the state of being indented.

Usage examples:

Paragraphs are marked off by indentation

noun

A part of a surface that curves inward

Usage examples:

If a surgeon takes out too much fat, he may leave indentations in the skin.

noun

A hole or mark on the surface of something

Usage examples:

The heels of her shoes had left indentations in the mud.

verb

Make or become less; diminish.

Usage examples:

The years have lessened the gap in age between us

verb

To become or make something smaller in amount or degree

Usage examples:

[ t ] keeping your weight down can lessen the risk of heart disease.

verb

To make something smaller, less noticeable, etc., or to become smaller, less noticeable, etc.

Usage examples:

Corporate executives are keen to embrace "green technology" in order to lessen their dependence on …

idiom

To reduce an amount of something, esp. money or work

Usage examples:

Buying a new car put a big dent in our savings., i haven’t even made a dent in that huge stack of p…

noun

A small area on a surface having a different colour from its surroundings, typically one caused by damage or dirt.

Usage examples:

The blow left a red mark down one side of her face

verb

Make a visible impression or stain on.

Usage examples:

He fingered the photograph gently, careful not to mark it

noun

(until the introduction of the euro in 2002) the basic monetary unit of germany, equal to 100 pfennig; a deutschmark.

Usage examples:

Germany spent billions of marks to save the french franc from speculators

noun

A large hole in the ground.

Usage examples:

I do not see any risk of these pits becoming breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

verb

Set someone or something in conflict or competition with.

Usage examples:

You'll get the chance to pit your wits against the world champions

verb

Remove the pit from (fruit).

Usage examples:

Leave some cherries whole so people can see later on how hard you worked pitting real cherries.

noun

To spoil or destroy an idea or plan

Usage examples:

The rain certainly put the kibosh on our plans for a picnic.

verb

Make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.

Usage examples:

The need for businesses to reduce costs

verb

Make smaller

verb

To make something less in size, amount, degree, importance, or price

Usage examples:

A low-fat diet can reduce the risk of heart disease., grunn employs 17,900 people, but that number …

noun

The action or fact of making something smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.

Usage examples:

Talks on arms reduction

noun

The fluid which circulates in the vascular system of a plant, consisting chiefly of water with dissolved sugars and mineral salts.

Usage examples:

Create a living smorgasbord that includes plants with berries, foliage, fruit, nectar, nuts, pollen…

verb

Gradually weaken or destroy (a person's strength or power).

Usage examples:

Our energy is being sapped by bureaucrats and politicians

verb

Dig a sap or saps.

Usage examples:

Having sapped up to the glacis of the city ramparts, versaillais troops entered the city

verb

(of a structure or area of land) tremble or vibrate.

Usage examples:

Buildings shook in sacramento and tremors were felt in reno

noun

An act of shaking.

Usage examples:

She gave her red curls a shake

verb

Move or cause to move back and forth

verb

Become or make smaller in size or amount.

Usage examples:

The workforce shrank to a thousand

noun

A psychiatrist.

Usage examples:

You should see a shrink

verb

To become smaller or cause something to become smaller

Usage examples:

[ i ] the show’s audience has shrunk in the last few months., [ t ] i shrank my sweater by putting …

noun

A long, narrow open container for animals to eat or drink out of.

Usage examples:

A water trough

verb

Eat greedily.

Usage examples:

The culprit turned out to be my dog, caught red-handed troughing into the berries when she thought …

noun

A narrow, open box to hold water or food for animals

Usage examples:

Investors have to live through stock market troughs.

verb

Erode the base or foundation of (a rock formation).

Usage examples:

The flow of water had undermined pillars supporting the roof

verb

To gradually weaken or destroy someone or something

Usage examples:

The incompetence and arrogance of the city’s administration have undermined public confidence in go…

verb

Make or become weaker in power, resolve, or physical strength.

Usage examples:

Fault lines had weakened and shattered the rocks

verb

To make or become weak or weaker

Usage examples:

[ i ] the country’s economy continues to weaken., [ t ] long exposure to vibration can weaken aircr…

verb

To become or make something or someone become less powerful, successful, effective, etc.

Usage examples:

A series of scandals weakened investor confidence., the plan has divided the country and weakened t…