mean1
/miːn
/verb (past and past participle meant /mɛnt/) [with object]
1Intend to convey or refer to (a particular thing); signify: I don’t know what you mean he was asked to clarify what his remarks meant I meant you, not Jones...
- It was a slow kiss, intended to mean a promise of a future together.
- ‘Hey freak,’ Jesse greeted, his tone implying that he had meant it strictly as an insult.
- The question is whether that means it intends to triple its workforce.
Synonyms
signify, convey, denote, designate, indicate, connote, show, express, spell out, stand for, represent, symbolize, imply, purport, suggest, allude to, intimate, hint at, insinuate, drive at, refer to
informal get at
literary betoken
1.1(Of a word) have (something) as its signification in the same language or its equivalent in another language: its name means ‘painted rock’ in Cherokee...
- Lenin named his small movement the Bolsheviks, a word meaning majority.
- The word once meant the description of a work of visual art within a poem, but has come to mean poetic description more generally.
- The word also means a narrowing of the eyes so that you can get a clearer view, and an affliction where the eyes are not in line.
1.2Genuinely intend to express (something): when she said that she meant it...
- Mike had the feeling that, deep down inside, she genuinely meant it.
- ‘Thank you,’ she said, and the genuine look in her eyes told me that she really meant it.
- ‘I'm glad to hear it,’ he replied, and the genuine smile he gave me let me know he meant it.
1.3 (mean something to) Be of a specified degree of importance to (someone): animals have always meant more to him than people...
- They had always meant a lot to her, she couldn't explain it.
- This woman means a lot to me and I intend to make sure she's taken care of.
- But it still means a lot to the few people watching.
2Intend (something) to occur or be the case: they mean no harm [with infinitive]: it was meant to be a secret...
- It's strange how someone can know there was a time quite recent you meant them harm, and still hold no grudge.
- You can come with me to the Temple if you promise that you mean his girl no harm.
- Fear rushed through him and he prayed that the person meant them no harm.
Synonyms
intend, aim, plan, design, have in mind, have in view, contemplate, think of, purpose, propose, have plans, set out, aspire, desire, want, wish, expect
2.1 (be meant to do something) Be supposed to do something: we were meant to go over yesterday...
- She didn't know where this place was that supposedly they were meant to go to, and because of that tried to push the thought out of her hyperactive head.
- My first week passed in a blur, mainly caused by my confusion about what I was meant to do and not knowing who everyone was.
- At first he sang mostly for the workers in the factories where he also was meant to be working.
2.2 (often be meant for) Design or destine for a particular purpose: the jacket was meant for a much larger person...
- I told him that garlic dipping sauce was meant for the sole purpose of dipping!
- The Marble Falls design is meant for business users, with two flat-screen displays and a small chassis.
- We wondered who the oversize sign was meant for.
Synonyms
destine, predestine, fate, preordain, ordain;
intend, design
2.3 (mean something by) Have something as a motive or explanation in saying or doing: what do you mean by leaving me out here in the cold?...
- I mean many things by this, which I hope to explore in the coming weeks and months.
- I meant no harm by my remark, but remember he's only a novice.
- They assured me that they meant no offense by this.
Synonyms
matter, have importance, have significance, be important, be significant;
have an input on
2.4 (be meant to be) Be generally considered to be: this one’s meant to be priceless
3Have as a consequence or result: the proposals are likely to mean another hundred closures [with clause]: heavy rain meant that the pitch was waterlogged...
- He said the Danish result was likely to mean that Britain would not join the EMU as early as had originally been anticipated.
- This is likely to mean a greater spend on advertising and promotional activities.
- About 200 people are expected to turn up in all, and the popularity means this is likely to become a regular event.
Synonyms
entail, involve, necessitate, lead to, result in, give rise to, bring about, cause, engender, produce, effect
presage, portend, foretell, augur, promise, foreshadow, herald, signal, bode
rare betoken, foretoken, forebode, adumbrate
3.1Necessarily or usually entail or involve: coal stoves mean a lot of smoke...
- Either way, being a performer meant being involved in the compositional process.
- A day out in Edinburgh does usually mean walking around the city, but suppose we just stayed in-doors.
Phrases
I mean
if you know (or see) what I mean
mean business
mean to say
mean well
Origin
Old English mænan, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch meenen and German meinen, from an Indo-European root shared by mind.
The word mean means many things in English. The ancient root of Old English mean ‘to intend to convey’ is related to mind. The original meaning of mean ‘not generous, small-minded’ (Middle English) was ‘common to two or more people’, reflecting its ancient root, shared with Latin communis ‘common’ (see commonplace). Modern uses developed from ‘low on the social scale’ through ‘inferior’, while a complete reversal comes in the informal sense ‘excellent’, dating from the early 20th century. Use as a term of approval has a precursor in expressions involving a negative, no mean…: in the Bible St Paul declared ‘I am …a Jew of Tarsus…a citizen of no mean city.’ The mathematical use of mean, ‘an average’ (Middle English), goes back to Latin medianus ‘middle’, source also of median (Late Middle English). This is the mean behind means ‘a method’, as in a means to an end, a thing that is not valued or important in itself but is useful in achieving an aim.
Rhymes
mean2
/miːn/adjective
1chiefly British Unwilling to give or share things, especially money; not generous: she felt mean not giving a tip they’re not mean with the garlic...
- And if you keep being so mean with the price, people might be so angry about it, and they might even burn things down.
- They were horrible - greedy and interfering, and mean and small-minded.
Synonyms
miserly, niggardly, close-fisted, parsimonious, penny-pinching, cheese-paring, ungenerous, penurious, illiberal, close, grasping, greedy, avaricious, acquisitive, Scrooge-like;
Australian/New Zealand & Scottish miserable
informal tight-fisted, stingy, tight, mingy, money-grubbing, skinflinty
North American informal cheap, grabby
Australian informal hungry
British vulgar slang tight-arse, tight-arsed, tight as a duck's arse
archaic near, niggard
2Unkind, spiteful, or unfair: I was mean to them over the festive season...
- She didn't know why, but for some reason she couldn't be spiteful or mean to this man anymore.
- That was probably why he had been so horribly mean to Conner in his room earlier.
- She didn't mean to be mean and cruel but things slip once in while, things she can't control.
Synonyms
unkind, nasty, spiteful, foul, malicious, malevolent, despicable, contemptible, obnoxious, vile, odious, loathsome, disagreeable, unpleasant, unfriendly, uncharitable, shabby, unfair, callous, cruel, vicious, base, low
informal horrible, horrid, hateful, rotten, low-down
British informal beastly, bitchy, catty
vulgar slang shitty
2.1North American Vicious or aggressive in behaviour: the dogs were considered mean, vicious, and a threat...
- This person was also abusive, mean and vicious.
- He was perfect in his stall but when he was on the track, he was mean and vicious.
- Eventually, we learn that Monica is a mean, vicious vamp who places men under her power with a combination of humiliation and flabby thighs.
3(Especially of a place) poor in quality and appearance; shabby: her home was mean and small
Synonyms
squalid, shabby, dilapidated, sordid, seedy, slummy, sleazy, insalubrious, poor, sorry, wretched, dismal, dingy, miserable, mangy, broken-down, run down, down at heel
informal scruffy, scuzzy, crummy, grungy, ratty, tacky
British informal grotty
3.1(Of a person’s mental capacity or understanding) inferior: it was obvious to even the meanest intelligence...
- She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper.
Synonyms
inferior, poor, limited, restricted, meagre
3.2 dated Of low birth or social class: a muffler like that worn by the meanest of people
Synonyms
lowly, humble, ordinary, low, low-born, lower-class, modest, common, base, proletarian, plebeian, obscure, undistinguished, ignoble
archaic baseborn
4 informal Very skilful or effective; excellent: he’s a mean cook she dances a mean tango...
- I see someone funny and sweet who cooks a mean steak and does a lousy John Wayne impression.
- We opt for number two, and discover the dipso cooks a mean cheese omelette.
- Day has an incredibly luminous screen presence, and in every scene they share, she matches Cagney's swagger with a mean strut of her own.
Phrases
no mean ——
Derivatives
meanly
/ adverb ...- ‘You first,’ he said meanly as he prepared to fire.
- ‘I knew you weren't as good as you said,’ Heather said meanly.
- ‘Um, sorry’ she said lamely and some classmates chuckled meanly.
Origin
Middle English, shortening of Old English gemǣne, of Germanic origin, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin communis 'common'. The original sense was 'common to two or more people', later 'inferior in rank', leading to (sense 3) and a sense 'ignoble, small-minded', from which (sense 1) and (sense 2) (which became common in the 19th century) arose.
mean3
/miːn/noun
1The value obtained by dividing the sum of several quantities by their number; an average: acid output was calculated by taking the mean of all three samples...See also arithmetic mean, geometric mean.
- The price may rise and fall, but the average mean is what the cost will turn out to be.
- Centering consists of subtracting the sample mean from each independent variable.
- The means and coefficients of variation of output and input variables are reported in Table 1.
2A condition, quality, or course of action equally removed from two opposite extremes: the measure expresses a mean between saving and splashing out
Synonyms
middle course, middle way, mid point, central point, middle, happy medium, golden mean, compromise, balance, median, norm, average
adjective [attributive]
1(Of a quantity) calculated as a mean; average: participants in the study had a mean age of 35 years...
- In dealing with commodities such as butter, we recognize patterns in charts and calculate the mean average over a period of time.
- To control for the professional experience of the firm's founding team, I calculated the mean age for the set of founders for each law firm.
- Following convention, quantity terms were normalized using the data means to have mean values of one.
Synonyms
average, median, middle, halfway, centre, central, intermediate, medial, medium, normal, standard, middling
2Equally far from two extremes: hope is the mean virtue between despair and presumption
Origin
Middle English: from Old French meien, from Latin medianus 'middle' (see median).