Dent

n. [A modification of dent, q. v. Cf. also Fr. dent, and Lat. dens, gen. dentis, a tooth.] 1. A stroke; a blow. [Obs.] “That dent of thunder.” Chaucer. To be from the dent of the French sword clearly exempt and untouched. Hall. 2. The mark made by a blow; a depression or hollow made by the pressure of a harder body on a softer; indentation. A blow that would have made a dent in a pound of butter. De Quincey.

v. t. [imp. & p. p. DENTED; p. pr. & vb. n. DENTING.] To make a dent or the mark of a blow upon; to indent. “The houses dented with bullets.” Macaulay.