- to have in mind as one's purpose or intention: I meant to compliment you on your work.
- to intend for a particular purpose, destination, etc.: They were meant for each other.
- to intend to express or indicate: What do you mean by “liberal”?
- to have as its sense or signification; signify: The word “freedom” means many things to many people.
- to bring, cause, or produce as a result: This bonus means that we can take a trip to Florida.
- to have (certain intentions) toward a person: He didn't mean you any harm.
- to have the value of; assume the importance of: Money means everything to them. She means the world to him.
- to be minded or disposed; have intentions: Beware, she means ill, despite her solicitous manner.
- to have good intentions; try to be kind or helpful: Her constant queries about your health must be tiresome, but I'm sure she means well.
- offensive, selfish, or unaccommodating; nasty; malicious: a mean remark;He gets mean when he doesn't get his way.
- small-minded or ignoble: mean motives.
- penurious, stingy, or miserly: a person who is mean about money.
- inferior in grade, quality, or character: no mean reward.
- low in status, rank, or dignity: mean servitors.
- of little importance or consequence: mean little details.
- unimposing or shabby: a mean abode.
- small, humiliated, or ashamed: You should feel mean for being so stingy.
- in poor physical condition.
- troublesome or vicious; bad-tempered: a mean old horse.
- skillful or impressive: He blows a mean trumpet.
- an agency, instrument, or method used to attain an end: The telephone is a means of communication. There are several means of solving the problem.
- means,
- available resources, especially money: They lived beyond their means.
- considerable financial resources; riches: a man of means.
- something that is midway between two extremes; something intermediate: to seek a mean between cynicism and blind faith.
- Mathematics.
- a quantity having a value intermediate between the values of other quantities; an average, especially the arithmetic mean.
- either the second or third term in a proportion of four terms.
- expected value. See mathematical expectation (def. 2).
- the middle term in a syllogism.
- occupying a middle position or an intermediate place, as in kind, quality, degree, or time: a mean speed; a mean course; the mean annual rainfall.
- by all means,
- (in emphasis) certainly: Go, by all means.
- at any cost; without fail.
- in any way; at all: We were not surprised at the news by any means.
- with the help of; by the agency of; through: We crossed the stream by means of a log.
- in no way; not at all: The prize is by no means certain.
- to intend to convey or express
- intend
- to say or do in all seriousness
- to destine or design (for a certain person or purpose)
- to denote or connote; signify; represent
- to produce; cause
- to foretell; portend
- to have the importance of
- to have the intention of behaving or acting (esp in the phrases mean well or mean ill)
- to be in earnest
- miserly, ungenerous, or petty
- humble, obscure, or lowly
- despicable, ignoble, or callous
- poor or shabby
- bad-tempered; vicious
- ashamed
- unwell; in low spirits
- excellent; skilful
- no mean
- of high quality
- difficult
- the middle point, state, or course between limits or extremes
- moderation
- maths
- the second and third terms of a proportion, as b and c in a/b = c/d
- another name for average (def. 2) See also geometric mean
- a statistic obtained by multiplying each possible value of a variable by its probability and then taking the sum or integral over the range of the variable
- intermediate or medium in size, quantity, etc
- occurring halfway between extremes or limits; average
