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
As drastic as that sounds, even that will barely make a dent.
—
Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 22 June 2024
The sense that 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
How is this affecting the battle against opioid abuse?
Even as the drug has been approved for over-the-counter sales, many in the medical field have expressed skepticism that Narcan would put a dent in the opioid crisis.
—Justin Klawans, theweek, 19 Mar. 2024
Those local counterterrorism forces trained by the United States and France put a dent in terrorist activity, using intelligence gleaned from MQ-9 Reaper surveillance drones flying from the sprawling air base in Agadez, in the country’s north.
—Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 7 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for make/put a dent 
Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 22 June 2024
The sense that 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
How is this affecting the battle against opioid abuse?
Even as the drug has been approved for over-the-counter sales, many in the medical field have expressed skepticism that Narcan would put a dent in the opioid crisis.
—Justin Klawans, theweek, 19 Mar. 2024
Those local counterterrorism forces trained by the United States and France put a dent in terrorist activity, using intelligence gleaned from MQ-9 Reaper surveillance drones flying from the sprawling air base in Agadez, in the country’s north.
—Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 7 June 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 7 Jul. 2024.
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