[Idiom] MAKE A DENT. - Learn How to Make Noticeable Progress in Any Task
Make a dent.
Achieve noticeable progress.
The phrase "make a dent" is used when someone wants to indicate progress, especially in a large task or through a significant challenge. Imagine having a huge pile of work and slowly but surely, you start to see a difference in the amount that's left to do; you are making a dent. It’s as if you are hammering away at a big block of metal and finally seeing a physical dent showing your effort is paying off.
Example Sentences
His small donation didn't make a dent in the overall fundraising goal.
His small donation didn't significantly impact the fundraising goal.
Even though we've been working all day, we've barely made a dent in sorting through the donations.
Despite working all day, they made little progress in sorting through the donations.
Despite his efforts, reducing the error rate in data entry by just a few percent, he felt like he hadn’t really made a dent in improving the system.
His efforts to reduce data entry errors felt insignificant in improving the system.