dent
/dɛnt/noun, verb
dent is spelled D-E-N-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.7 times per million words in written English, the 11,685th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dent means “A shallow deformation in the surface of an object, produced by an impact” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dent is dents.
How many letters and syllables are in dent?
| Letters | 4: D-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.7 times per million words; the 11,685th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is dent?
Dent appears 4.7 times per million words in written English, the 11,685th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dent?
- US /dɛnt/
Dent has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dent.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with dent?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as dent from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnt/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: tend.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of dent
- dents plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- denting participle, present
- dented participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A shallow deformation in the surface of an object, produced by an impact.
The crash produced a dent in the left side of the car.
- 2
A minor effect made upon something.
to make a dent
- 3
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.
- 4
informalA sudden negative change, such as loss, damage, weakening, consumption or diminution, especially one produced by an external force, event or action
That purchase put a bit of a dent in my wallet.
- 5
A tooth, as of a card, a gear wheel, etc.
- 6
A slot or a wire in a reed.
verb
- 1
To impact something, producing a dent.
- 2
To develop a dent or dents.
Copper is soft and dents easily.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bosse , cabosser |
| German | Delle, Vertiefung, Einbuchtung, Beule , einbeulen, eindellen |
| Portuguese | amassado, amolgadela , amassar |
| Spanish | abolladura, bolladura, abollón , abollar, hacer mella |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dent come from?
From Middle English dent, dente, dint (“a blow; strike; dent”), from Old English dynt (“blow, strike, the mark or noise of a blow”), from Proto-Germanic *duntiz (“a blow”). Akin to Old Norse dyntr (“dint”). Doublet of dint.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).