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
Debates in the past have produced signature moments that helped alter the course of presidential race, while others have failed to make a dent.
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Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 26 June 2024
The sense that these claustrophobic boom-bap and trap tunes cataloguing potential violence toward women and girls won’t put a dent in anyone’s business machine is depressing.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 May 2024
The post went on to report that while the January operation by the FBI put a dent in the infrastructure Pawn Storm depended on, legal constraints prevented the operation from preventing reinfection.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 2 May 2024
Ultimately, the speaker agreed with the mayor that to truly make a dent in the housing crisis, state lawmakers in Albany must this year replace expired tax breaks incentivizing affordable apartment developments — an effort that failed during the 2023 session.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 13 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for make/put a dent 
Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 26 June 2024
The sense that these claustrophobic boom-bap and trap tunes cataloguing potential violence toward women and girls won’t put a dent in anyone’s business machine is depressing.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 May 2024
The post went on to report that while the January operation by the FBI put a dent in the infrastructure Pawn Storm depended on, legal constraints prevented the operation from preventing reinfection.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 2 May 2024
Ultimately, the speaker agreed with the mayor that to truly make a dent in the housing crisis, state lawmakers in Albany must this year replace expired tax breaks incentivizing affordable apartment developments — an effort that failed during the 2023 session.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 13 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for make/put a dent
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'make/put a dent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Make/put a dent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/make%2Fput%20a%20dent. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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