meantmeant /ment/ 
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- But a combination of international change and policy alteration has meant that, on some issues, the Tories changed too.
- But the comprehension of what that actually meant was slim.
- For now, that meant keeping the case uppermost in his thoughts.
- It meant the freedom to talk freely, discuss matters which could not be voiced within four walls.
- That too often meant that jobs went abroad to places with very low wages and dire standards of living.
- The bird made frantic gobbling or clucking noises, which meant it knew what it was in for.
- The controversy over Croagh Patrick meant that islanders were aware of the problems with gold mining already.
- This meant that I walked further than recorded.
Longman Language Activatorwhen something is certain and impossible to avoid
· War now seems inevitable.· Nina could never escape the inevitable comparisons that people made between her and her twin.inevitable result/consequence · If the population continues to expand, Ehrlich argues, mass starvation and ecological disaster will be the inevitable consequence. · The price of bread was doubled, with the inevitable result - riots in the streets of Paris.it is inevitable (that) · It was inevitable that he'd find out her secret sooner or later.
use this to tell someone that something is certain to happen and that they cannot prevent it even if they do not like it: · You're going to have to face him one day, whether you like it or not.· Whether she likes it or not, she's got to accept that her kids are grown up now.
something that is predestined will certainly happen and cannot be changed because it has been decided in advance by a power or force beyond our control: · Life isn't a series of predestined events: we have some control over what happens.predestined to do something: · Many religions teach that man is predestined to suffer.
if you know that a situation is meant to be you know it is certain to happen, especially because it is right and suitable: · We tried to be happy together but it was never meant to be.· Although saying goodbye was painful, she knew it was meant to be.
something that is definitely going to happen and cannot be avoided or prevented: · It's time they accepted the inevitable and got a divorce.bow to the inevitable (=accept something that cannot be prevented): · Week after week the papers were full of revelations about the minister's alleged corrupt dealings, until eventually he bowed to the inevitable and resigned.
to be intended for a particular purpose to be done or made for a particular purpose, especially when the purpose is not achieved: · His artworks are meant to cause debate.· The police opened the package and found not a bomb, but a wallet meant to be someone's gift.· Thirty percent of the lottery ticket sales was supposed to go to education.
to be done or made for a particular purpose: · The concert is intended to raise money for charity.· I didn't think the movie was as dramatic as it was intended to be.
to be made in a specific way in order to achieve a particular result: · The menu was designed to appeal to both children and adults.· Democrats say the law is designed to help only wealthy taxpayers.
if something is done with the aim of achieving something, it is done in order to try and achieve it: · The center does research with the aim of improving the lives of poor Americans.· The committee will reform the tests, with the aim of better evaluating student performance.with the express/deliberate etc aim of doing something: · We ask students to write essays under examination conditions, with the deliberate aim of familiarizing them with these conditions.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
It was said on the spur of the moment and I meant no disrespect to anybody. Politics meant nothing (=was not important) to me for years.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
the past tense and past participle of mean It was said on the spur of the moment and I meant no disrespect to anybody. Politics meant nothing (=was not important) to me for years.· This robbed us of our president and also meant that Mr Adshead was unable to talk to us.· It also meant, Fukuyama indicated, the end of large-scale war.· The greater abundance of iron ores over those of copper also meant that iron was more readily obtainable and cheaper.· Thursdays are also meant for mending and darning.· The presence of all these species also meant that I had a good chance of spotting the birds that preyed on them.· To manipulate the level of production also meant that the role of government must be enlarged.· It also meant that the boys could see in and witness the general untidiness of his tiny room.· However, this also meant that a very small obstacle could deflect the bullet in flight.
· In any case, assimilation never meant any real acceptance or belonging.· Everyone agrees the road was never meant to handle this kind of traffic.· Modesty has settled on the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be.· To this end, he had taught his deputies that keeping their guns cleaned and oiled meant never having to use them.· Of course, he never meant them to be used like this.· But Rufus admitted to himself that the beauties of nature and architecture had never meant much to him.· He never meant any harm to anyone.
· She had only meant to defend herself, but it had come out all wrong.· The boy later told detectives he meant only to scare her.· It had only meant one more day of privacy.· The ones we have included are meant only to dramatize the similarities between these two fields of experience.· Perhaps she only meant she didn't want to give him her cold.· That meant only one thing: he had to go through with it.· To Manville it meant only one thing.· Everything was dictated by Moscow, and that meant only the Leninist viewpoint.
· Perhaps what he really meant was that they couldn't afford not to go to Nunes.· I asked you to consider it, but what I really meant was, will you do it?· Maybe the ghost is where I am really meant to be.· It dawned on me I really meant something to you, you know.· I was still thinking about that, wondering what it really meant.· When they hugged at the end of virtually every episode, they really meant it.· I really meant to get in touch with you again after Paris, but somehow I felt I'd blown it.· For him, being above politics really meant being above the mob.
NOUN· She couldn't actually sing I suppose, but when she sang, she meant every word.· Yet his serious manner at the very end of our conversation suggested he meant every single word he had just said.· She had said she would dance on their graves, and she meant it, meant every word she said.· I think he meant every word of what he wrote.· Miss Pickerstaff might have been out of sorts, but she meant every word she said.· Her voice was sincere, but in her heart she meant every word she said.· She had meant every word of it.· When I called you a pompous, self-opinionated bully I meant every word!
VERB· Polly knew what the woman meant immediately.· I know you meant that seriously.· Offered to allow them a kind of autonomy, Coffin knew it had been meant originally as a Traffic Inquiry Unit.· And the minute she said it, she knew exactly what he meant.· And Anne had known she meant it.· But I knew what he meant.· She knew exactly what he meant, could recall in graphic detail the event to which he was referring.· I did not quite know what they meant but I took it as a compliment.
· But I thought you meant Satan, people usually do.· Does it still mean what you thought it meant when you were living it?· I thought he meant to continue, so I waited.· It got me out of clearing tables for a living, but I thought it meant more than that.· I was angry because she portrays herself as a wives' attorney and I thought that meant issues.· I don't think Andy ever meant to do anything with this place.· Polly could not begin to think what he meant.
· In this respect it is very important to understand just what he meant by exchange.· Wistfully, William Wordsworth wrote: en and everyone understood what the poet meant.· I didn't understand what she meant about sometimes you owe more to strangers, but I do now.· He understood what it meant to the living left behind.· President Clinton understood what this meant for developing countries yet did nothing about it.· Before the managers could begin to understand what providing leadership meant, they had to grasp these fundamental ideas.· But very soon he got used to these things and learnt to understand what they meant.· She said she understood what it meant to disappear into another country.