make a dent in

make a dent in
{v. phr.}, {informal} To make less by a very small amount; reduce slightly. - Usually used in the negative or with such qualifying words as "hardly" or "barely". * /John shoveled and shoveled, but he didn't seem to make a dent in the pile of sand./ * /Mary studied all afternoon and only made a dent in her homework./

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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  • make a dent in — (something) British, American & Australian, American to reduce the amount or level of something. The roof repairs made quite a dent in our savings. Police efforts have hardly put a dent in the level of drug trafficking on the streets. (often… …   New idioms dictionary

  • make a dent in — make progress We worked hard all day but we didn t seem to make a dent in the amount of work left to do …   Idioms and examples

  • make a dent in — {v. phr.}, {informal} To make less by a very small amount; reduce slightly. Usually used in the negative or with such qualifying words as hardly or barely . * /John shoveled and shoveled, but he didn t seem to make a dent in the pile of sand./ *… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • make\ a\ dent\ in — v. phr. informal To make less by a very small amount; reduce slightly. Usually used in the negative or with such qualifying words as hardly or barely . John shoveled and shoveled, but he didn t seem to make a dent in the pile of sand. Mary… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • make a dent in — phrasal : to produce an inconsiderable effect upon his gambling losses hardly made a dent in his huge fortune unable even to make a dent in his complacency …   Useful english dictionary

  • make a dent in something — informal phrase to reduce the amount of something a strategy for making a dent in the crime statistics Thesaurus: to reduce somethingsynonym Main entry: dent * * * make, etc. a ˈdent in sth …   Useful english dictionary

  • make a dent in something — make a dent in (something) British, American & Australian, American to reduce the amount or level of something. The roof repairs made quite a dent in our savings. Police efforts have hardly put a dent in the level of drug trafficking on the… …   New idioms dictionary

  • make a dent in — make a depression in , create a hollow in …   English contemporary dictionary

  • make a dent in something — informal to reduce the amount of something a strategy for making a dent in the crime statistics …   English dictionary

  • make/put a dent — ◇ In figurative use, to make a dent (in something) or to put a dent in something is to decrease something slightly or to make it somewhat weaker. We tried our best to fix the problem, but nothing we did seems to have made a dent. [=nothing we did …   Useful english dictionary

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