Meanings
- By force of; by means of.
He succeeded by dint of effort, not talent.
5 more examples
[T]he Scythians perceiuyng they coulde not ouercome them by dint of ſwoorde and warre, changed their fight, & went againſt them with whippes and ſcourges, at the ſight whereof the ſeruant[s] remembring their olde condicion, were ſore abaſhed and ſubmitted them ſelues, takying worthy punyſhment for their offence.
1560, Thomas Cooper, “The Seconde Parte [of Lanquettes Chronicle]”, in Coopers Chronicle, Conteininge the Whole Discourse of the Histories as well of This Realme, as All Other Countreis, […], new edition, London: […] [[I]n the house late Thomas Berthelettes], →OCLC, folio 27, recto[H]is aunceſtours did deſire / By dint of blade, not bagges of droſſe, to honour to aſpire.
1576, George Whetstone, “The Arbour of Vertue, […]”, in The Rocke of Regard, […], London: […] [H. Middleton] for Robert Waley, →OCLC; republished in J[ohn] P[ayne] Collier, editor, The Rocke of Regard, […] (Illustrations of Early English Poetry; vol. 2, no. 2), London: Privately printed, [1867?], →OCLC, pages 149–150Ethelred manfully entred the battaile, and ſo ſeconded his brother, & ouer-tyred Soldiers, that hee made way by dint of his ſword through the thickeſt of their almoſt-conquering enemies; […]
1623, John Speed, “Ethelred the Tvvo and Tvventieeth King of the VVest-Saxons, and the Twenty Third Monarch of the Englishmen, His Acts, and Issue”, in The Historie of Great Britaine vnder the Conqvests of the Romans, Saxons, Danes and Normans. […], 2nd edition, London: […] George Hvmble, […], →OCLC, paragraph 8, page 383He [Tertullian] was naturally exceeding Hot and Impatient, […] to this natural Stock of Fire, and the joint Force of Letters, was added a ſurprizing Vivacity of Wit, edged with a Keeneſs peculiar to himſelf, ſo that he cou'd drive an Argument as far by dint of Reaſon, and clinch it as ſeverely by dint of Wit, as moſt Men living; […]
1709, William Reeves, “A Preliminary Discourse to Tertullian’s Apologetick for the Christians”, in The Apologies of Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Minutius Felix, in Defence of the Christian Religion, […] In Two Volumes, volume I, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC, page 136She stopt, felt herself getting into a puzzle, and could not be prevailed on to add another word, not by dint of several minutes of supplication and waiting.
1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter III, in Mansfield Park: […], volume III, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 66 - broadlyBecause of; by reason of.
3 more examples
Hierocles [of Alexandria] in this Place follows the Thought of Socrates, who in the Phædon of Plato deplores the hard Fate of Men, who by dint of Hearing the Ignorant diſpute and contradict every thing, imagine with themſelves that there is no ſuch thing as clear, ſolid and ſenſible Reaſons; and perſuade themſelves that every thing is uncertain.
1707, [André] Dacier, “Verses XXI, XXII, and XXIII”, in [anonymous], transl., The Life of Pythagoras, with His Symbols and Golden Verses. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, footnote (a), page 265As a development organization, it [the United Nations Development Programme] competes with other parts of the UN system for funds and attention, but more especially with the World Bank, which has become a substantial presence in developing countries, in terms of resources and influence. UNDP has also retained a coordination role, by dint of history and because of its broad mandate. But the two roles do not sit easily.
2012, Stephen Browne, “The Future of the UN Development System”, in United Nations Development Programme and System, Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 108This is a book about poverty. It is a book about why some people in seventeenth and early-eighteenth-century England ended up so destitute that they called upon formal poor relief for support. […] You were more likely to end up poor if you were landless, or lived away from your relatives, or simply by dint of being female.
2014, Jonathan Healey, “Preface”, in The First Century of Welfare: Poverty and Poor Relief in Lancashire, 1620–1730, Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, Boydell & Brewer, →ISBN, page XII
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
From by + dint (“force, power”) + of.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic بِسَبَبّ
- بِسَبَبّ (bisababb)by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
Catalan a força de
- a força deby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
Czech pomocí, prostřednictvím
- pomocíby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
- prostřednictvímby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
Dutch dank zij
- dank zijby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
French grâce à, à force de
- grâce àby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
- à force deby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
German dank, vermöge
- dankby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
- vermögeby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
- mitby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
- mit …kraftby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
- mit der Kraftby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
Hungarian révén, segítségével
- révénby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
- segítségévelby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
Japanese によって
- によってby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
Polish przy pomocy, za pomocą
- przy pomocyby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
- za pomocąby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
- przy użyciuby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
- za pośrednictwemby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
Portuguese graças a
- graças aby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
Russian посре́дством, с по́мощью
- посре́дством (posrédstvom)by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
- с по́мощью (s pómoščʹju)by the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
Spanish a fuerza de, a vuelta de
- a fuerza deby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
- a vuelta deby the force of; by means of — see also by means of, as a result of
Cite this entry
by dint of. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20dint%20of
“by dint of.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20dint%20of. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “by dint of,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/by%20dint%20of.
Source: by dint of on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.