Noah Webster
Dint
DINT, noun
1. A blow; a stroke.
2. Force; violence; power exerted; as, to win by dint of arms, by dint of war, by dint of argument or importunity.
3. The mark made by a blow; a cavity or impression made by a blow or by pressure on a substance; often pronounced dent.
His hands had made a dint
DINT, verb transitive To make a mark or cavity on a substance by a blow or by pressure. [See Indent.]