dimple
Americannoun
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a small, natural hollow area or crease, permanent or transient, in some soft part of the human body, especially one formed in the cheek in smiling.
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any similar slight depression.
verb (used with object)
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to mark with or as if with dimples; produce dimples in.
A smile dimpled her face.
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Metalworking.
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to dent (a metal sheet) so as to permit use of bolts or rivets with countersunk heads.
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to mark (a metal object) with a drill point as a guide for further drilling.
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verb (used without object)
noun
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a small natural dent or crease in the flesh, esp on the cheeks or chin
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any slight depression in a surface
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a bubble or dent in glass
verb
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to make or become dimpled
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(intr) to produce dimples by smiling
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dimplesimple
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dimplessimple
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have dimpledperfect
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has dimpledperfect
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am dimplingprogressive
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are dimplingprogressive
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is dimplingprogressive
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have been dimplingperfect progressive
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has been dimplingperfect progressive
Past
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dimpledsimple
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had dimpledperfect
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was dimplingprogressive
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were dimplingprogressive
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had been dimplingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dimple
1350–1400; Middle English dimpel, Old English *dympel; cognate with German Tümpel pool
Explanation
A dimple is a small indentation in a surface. A dimple on your cheek is cute, but a dimple on your car door is not so cute. A dimple can be an imperfection or tiny dent, but it's often a little cleft in a person's cheek or chin. People whose dimples show when they smile are particularly charming, and a dimpled chin is often considered quite handsome. One theory of the word's origin is that it meant "pothole" in Old English, from a Proto-Germanic root.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These prepayments “change the risk profile,” according to BofA analyst Dimple Gosai.
From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026
But it did take some effort to convince her parents that she wanted to marry Dimple.
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2023
“We now are concerned that ‘post-pandemic’ inflation is threatening to wipe out the progress women have achieved,” said Dimple Gosai, head of Bank of America’s U.S.
From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2023
The Pennington siblings — Nikisha, Danny, Dimple, Lizzie and Prynce — are each raised by a different mother, with the exception of the eldest and youngest.
From Washington Post • Sep. 8, 2022
He’d take care of Dimple, and she’d take care of him.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
