Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see make, a, dent.
To make an impression; to have an effect on; to chip away at.
To loosen or separate the parts of.
to find out the perpetrator, the motive etc (of crime)
To algebraically manipulate an equation or inequality into a form that isolates a chosen variable on one side, so that the other side consists of an expression that may be used to generate solutions.
To find an answer or solution to a problem or question; to work out.
To find the values of variables that satisfy a system of equations and/or inequalities.