make a dent vs make out

make a dent

verb
  • Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see make, a, dent. 

  • To make an impression; to have an effect on; to chip away at. 

make out

verb
  • To represent; to make (something) appear to be true. 

  • To manage, get along; to do (well, badly etc.). 

  • To discern; to manage to see, hear etc. 

  • To draw up (a document etc.), to designate (a cheque) to a given recipient, payee. 

  • To embrace and kiss passionately. 

  • To engage in heavy petting or sexual intercourse. 

How often have the words make a dent and make out occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )