Phrase guide

by dint of

prep · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /baɪ ˈdɪnt ɒv/
  • General-American: /baɪ ˈdɪnt ʌv/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

prep

Meaning 1

By force of; by means of.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • He succeeded by dint of effort, not talent.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

prep

Meaning 2

Because of; by reason of.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From by + dint (“force, power”) + of.

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: بِسَبَبّ (bisababb) — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Arabic: بسبب (besababb) — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Catalan: a força de — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Czech: pomocí — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Czech: prostřednictvím — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Dutch: dank zij — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • French: grâce à — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • French: à force de — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Galician: a custa de — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Galician: a forza de — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Galician: a poder de — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Galician: a por de — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • German: dank — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • German: vermöge — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • German: mit — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • German: mit ...kraft — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • German: mit der Kraft — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Hungarian: révén — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Hungarian: segítségével — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Japanese: によって — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Polish: przy pomocy — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Polish: za pomocą — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Polish: przy użyciu — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Polish: za pośrednictwem — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Portuguese: graças a — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Russian: посре́дством (posrédstvom) — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Russian: с по́мощью (s pómoščʹju) — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Spanish: a fuerza de — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
  • Spanish: a vuelta de — by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of