Dent, n.
Etymology: [A variant of Dint.]
1. A stroke; a blow. [Obs.] "That dent of thunder." Chaucer.
2. A slight depression, or small notch or hollow, made by a blow or by pressure; an indentation. A blow that would have made a dent in a pound of butter. De Quincey.
2 other Webster entries under this spelling
Dent, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dented; p. pr. & vb. n. Denting.]
To make a dent upon; to indent. The houses dented with bullets. Macaulay.
Dent, n.
(Mach.)
A tooth, as of a card, a gear wheel, etc. Knight.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for dent; he lists it under blemish.
He lists it without comment; the entries above explain its neighbors.