In the idiom by dint of, meaning (1) because of or (2) due to the efforts of, dint is a noun meaning force. The word comes from Old English, where it meant a blow dealt in fighting. In modern English, this sense of dint is archaic and only appears in by dint of. But dint is sometimes used as an alternative spelling of dent.
Examples
These writers correctly use by dint of to mean because of or due to the efforts of:
Speaking before Ferguson was his good friend Nick Minchin who, by dint of who he is, was always going to prove newsworthy. [Sydney Morning Herald]
Established fiat currencies—ones where bills and coins, or their digital versions, get their value by dint of regulation or law—are underwritten by the state … [The Economist]
Cambridge, which sits just across the river, is by dint of its size not as dynamic in some ways. [Financial Times]
By dint of is often questionably used to mean by, through, or via—for example:
Just by dint of being in government his party is no longer the preserve of the sunny uplands of radical opposition. [Guardian]
He’s essentially fallen upward into the frontrunner position by dint of finishing second in 2008. [Huffington Post]
In these cases, there’s no reason why by dint of shouldn’t be shortened to its one-word equivalent.
