divot

noun

1. (especially)A torn-up piece of turf, especially by a golf club in making a stroke or by a horse's hoof.

   “Usually her voice came over the wire as something fresh and cool, as if a divot from a green golf-links had come sailing in at the office window, but this morning it seemed harsh and dry.”

   “Soon, thick dark tufts of hair began to spread across his scalp, hanging over his ears, a moor of unruly divots which he was first unable to tame and with time willingly cultivated.”

2. A disruption in an otherwise smooth contour.

   “In these coldest hours before dawn, from three until six, I take up my knife again and hack at the chockstone. I continue to make minimal but visible progress in the divot.”

3. A drop in a graph between two linear portions (example)

verb

1. (especially, transitive)To tear up pieces of turf from, especially with a golf club in making a stroke.