mean

¹ American  

[meen] / min /

verb (used with object)

• means,
  present (3rd person singular)
• meant,
  past participle,  past
• meaning
  present participle

1. to have in mind as one's purpose or intention.

   I meant to compliment you on your work.

   Synonyms:

   contemplate, aim, plan, intend

2. to intend for a particular purpose, destination, etc..

   They were meant for each other.

   Synonyms:

   foreordain, destine

3. to intend to express or indicate.

   What do you mean by “liberal”?

4. to have as its sense or signification; signify.

   The word “freedom” means many things to many people.

   Synonyms:

   connote, imply, import, indicate, denote

5. to bring, cause, or produce as a result.

   This bonus means that we can take a trip to Florida.

6. to have (certain intentions) toward a person.

   He didn't mean you any harm.

7. to have the value of; assume the importance of.

   Money means everything to them. She means the world to him.

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verb (used without object)

• means,
  present (3rd person singular)
• meant,
  past participle,  past
• meaning
  present participle

1. to be minded or disposed; have intentions.

   Beware, she means ill, despite her solicitous manner.

idioms

1. mean well, 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.

mean ² American  

[meen] / min /

adjective

• meaner,
  comparative
• meanest
  superlative

1. offensive, selfish, or unaccommodating; nasty; malicious.

   a mean remark;

   He gets mean when he doesn't get his way.

2. small-minded or ignoble.

   mean motives.

   Synonyms:

   despicable, contemptible

3. penurious, stingy, or miserly.

   a person who is mean about money.

   Synonyms:

   selfish, ungenerous, illiberal, parsimonious, tight, close

4. inferior in grade, quality, or character.

   no mean reward.

5. low in status, rank, or dignity.

   mean servitors.

   Synonyms:

   plebeian, undignified, humble, common

6. of little importance or consequence.

   mean little details.

   Synonyms:

   poor, little, paltry, petty, insignificant, inconsequential

7. unimposing or shabby.

   a mean abode.

   Synonyms:

   poor, squalid

8. small, humiliated, or ashamed.

   You should feel mean for being so stingy.

9. Informal. in poor physical condition.

10. troublesome or vicious; bad-tempered.

    a mean old horse.

11. Slang. skillful or impressive.

    He blows a mean trumpet.

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mean ³ American  

[meen] / min /

noun

• means
  plural

1. (used with a singular or plural verb) Usually means 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.

2. means,

   1. available resources, especially money.

      They lived beyond their means.

   2. considerable financial resources; riches.

      a man of means.

3. something that is midway between two extremes; something intermediate.

   to seek a mean between cynicism and blind faith.

4. Mathematics.

   1. a quantity having a value intermediate between the values of other quantities; an average, especially the arithmetic mean.

   2. either the second or third term in a proportion of four terms.

5. Statistics. expected value. See mathematical expectation.

6. Logic. the middle term in a syllogism.

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adjective

• meaner,
  comparative
• meanest
  superlative

1. 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.

idioms

1. by any means, in any way; at all.

   We were not surprised at the news by any means.

2. by means of, with the help of; by the agency of; through.

   We crossed the stream by means of a log.

3. by no means, in no way; not at all.

   The prize is by no means certain.

4. by all means,

   1. (in emphasis) certainly.

      Go, by all means.

   2. at any cost; without fail.

mean ¹ British  

/ miːn /

adjective

1. miserly, ungenerous, or petty

2. humble, obscure, or lowly

   he rose from mean origins to high office

3. despicable, ignoble, or callous

   a mean action

4. poor or shabby

   mean clothing

   a mean abode

5. informal bad-tempered; vicious

6. informal ashamed

   he felt mean about not letting the children go to the zoo

7. informal unwell; in low spirits

8. slang excellent; skilful

   he plays a mean trombone

9. 1. of high quality

      no mean performer

   2. difficult

      no mean feat

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mean ² British  

/ miːn /

verb

1. (may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to intend to convey or express

2. (may take a clause as object or an infinitive) intend

   she didn't mean to hurt it

3. (may take a clause as object) to say or do in all seriousness

   the boss means what he says about strikes

4. to destine or design (for a certain person or purpose)

   she was meant for greater things

5. (may take a clause as object) to denote or connote; signify; represent

   examples help show exactly what a word means

6. (may take a clause as object) to produce; cause

   the weather will mean long traffic delays

7. (may take a clause as object) to foretell; portend

   those dark clouds mean rain

8. to have the importance of

   money means nothing to him

9. (intr) to have the intention of behaving or acting (esp in the phrases mean well or mean ill )

10. to be in earnest

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mean ³ British  

/ miːn /

noun

1. the middle point, state, or course between limits or extremes

2. moderation

3. maths

   1. the second and third terms of a proportion, as b and c in a/b = c/d

   2. another name for average See also geometric mean

4. statistics 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

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adjective

1. intermediate or medium in size, quantity, etc

2. occurring halfway between extremes or limits; average

mean Scientific  

/ mēn /

1. A number or quantity having a value that is intermediate between other numbers or quantities, especially an arithmetic mean or average.

2. See more at arithmetic mean

3. Either the second or third term of a proportion of four terms. In the proportion 2/3 = 4/6, the means are 3 and 4.

4. Compare extreme

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mean ¹ Cultural  

1. An average in statistics. (See under “Physical Sciences and Mathematics.”)

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mean ² Cultural  

1. In statistics, an average of a group of numbers or data points. With a group of numbers, the mean is obtained by adding them and dividing by the number of numbers in the group. Thus the mean of five, seven, and twelve is eight (twenty-four divided by three). (Compare median and mode.)

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mean More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing mean

• means

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Usage

What’s the difference between mean, median, mode, and average? In the context of mathematics and statistics, the word mean refers to what’s informally called the average—the sum of a set of values divided by the number of values. In contrast, the median is the middle number in a set of values when those values are arranged from smallest to largest, while the mode of a set of values is the most frequently repeated value in the set. The word average is of course also very commonly used in more general ways. In math, though, it’s helpful to use more specific terms when determining the most representative or common value in a set of numbers. To illustrate the difference, let’s look at an example set of seven values: 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9. To get the mean of this set, you’d add up all the values (2+3+3+4+6+8+9=35) and then divide that total by the number of values (7), resulting in a mean of 5. This is what most people are referring to when they refer to the average of some set of numbers. To find the median, you have to find the one that’s sequentially in the middle. In a set of seven numbers arranged in increasing value, the median is the fourth number (since there are three before and three after). In this set (2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9), the median is 4. When a set has an even number of values, the median is the mean of the two middle values. The mode is simply the value that shows up the most. In the example set, the mode is 3, since it occurs twice and all the other values occur only once. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between mean, median, mode, and average.

Synonym Usage

See intend.

Mean, low, base, sordid, and vile all refer to ignoble characteristics worthy of dislike, contempt, or disgust. Mean suggests pettiness and small-mindedness: to take a mean advantage. Low suggests coarseness and vulgarity: low company. Base suggests selfish cowardice or moral depravity: base motives. Sordid suggests a wretched uncleanness, or sometimes an avariciousness without dignity or moral scruples: a sordid slum; sordid gain. Vile suggests disgusting foulness or repulsiveness: vile insinuation; a vile creature. See stingy ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• meanness
  noun
• meanly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• means
  plural

Adjectives

• meaner
  comparative
• meanest
  superlative

Participles

• meaning
  present
• meant
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• mean
  simple
• means
  simple
• have meant
  perfect
• has meant
  perfect
• am meaning
  progressive
• are meaning
  progressive
• is meaning
  progressive
• have been meaning
  perfect progressive
• has been meaning
  perfect progressive

Past

• meant
  simple
• had meant
  perfect
• was meaning
  progressive
• were meaning
  progressive
• had been meaning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will mean
  simple
• will have meant
  perfect
• will be meaning
  progressive
• will have been meaning
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of mean¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English menen, Old English mǣnan; cognate with German meinen, Dutch meenen

Origin of mean²

First recorded before 900; Middle English mene, variant of imene, imeane “held or shared in common,” Old English gemǣne “common, general, mutual”; cognate with Dutch gemeen, German gemein “common,” Gothic gamains “in common”; see origin at y-, common

Origin of mean³

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English mene, meine, from Middle French meen, mean, variant of meien, from Latin mediānus “middle, in the middle”; see median

Explanation

If you got a fortune cookie with the message "Your future will contain many bananas," you might ask, "What on earth does that mean?" In other words, you wonder what the intention or meaning of the fortune might be. Mean is one of those ordinary, everyday words with lots of different meanings. The adjective mean can describe someone who's stingy or ungenerous, but it also means "unkind or unfair," which is what a little kid intends to convey when she yells at her mother, "You're mean!" In the sentence, "She lived in a mean little house," mean has yet another meaning, this time being "shabby or poor."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mean means meaner meanest meant meaning

“I mean, you have to work soooo hard. They’re soooo talented,” Thybulle said, laughing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

"This does not mean a blank cheque for Big Tech. Developers must use water responsibly, and new developments must be considered through the planning system."

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

Ted: “. . .I mean, really, this isn’t really a beard yet.”

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Some of Blazy's designs have proved so popular they have sparked a neologism -- "Blazymania" -- which has come to mean the frenzied buying in stores off items that often cost thousands of dollars.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

“But Picnic is something—well, Angelina didn’t grow up here, so it don’t mean the same thing to her. And she always felt people were staring at her.”

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

That means we can judge the distance to them from how dim they appear to us.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026

A dose implies only a portion — which probably means more hikes may come down the road.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 4, 2026

But a new law means this familiar practice could be coming to an end.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

For students, this means seeing the benefit of studying because they know it can result in good grades, which can lead to college admission and eventually, a job.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

“Trust me, I’m not happy about this situation either, but all of the staff here at the mountain have been deactivated, which means that you are the only option.”

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

The Financial Times's Danny Leigh dished out three stars, saying it paints a "portrait of tech rendering the young both sadder and meaner".

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

So instead of being better than their neighbors to the north, the Americans leaned into being meaner, heavier and generally more irritating.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026

In turn, increased efficiency allows them to be meaner toward prospective employees.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026

The soccer world is about to become a colder, darker and meaner place.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025

It sounded a lot meaner than I wanted it to but I was really surprised that Mr. C. would want a old rock.

From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Not only has Gabriel been a lynchpin in the top-flight's meanest defence – he has caused the opposition real problems at set-plays.

From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026

"Candidates should not try to be the meanest sheriff."

From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026

Readers eventually learn how Odd, whom Buddy describes as “the meanest human creature in my experience,” ends up at Buddy’s home for the holiday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

So, whenever my phone lights up, I can trust that I’m about to read the meanest, funniest joke imaginable about, like, Marco Rubio.

From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2025

I squinted my eyes real, real tight this time, into the thinnest, meanest slits possible, and sent telepathic messages to the workers like, Get away!

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan

The maker touts the bat’s “unique double barrel construction,” meant to improve exit velocity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

More than that, the ballooning numbers of athletes and officials meant there were not enough beds for everyone.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

After years of food designed to work everywhere for everyone, diners may simply be hungry again for evidence that somebody meant it.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

To know they were listening to Soulection at one point, that’s all it was meant to be — to inspire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

I meant to stay awake all night for J.W.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Diesel is used heavily by the haulage industry and in agriculture, meaning rises in the cost of the fuel feed through into essentials such as food.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

“We pursued this case to ensure workplace protections have real meaning and to recover as much as possible for drivers.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Sunlight plays an important role in vitamin D production and overall health, but it is also classified as a complete carcinogen, meaning it can both start and promote cancer.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026

He declared an “ontological difference” between art made by AI and humans — meaning that the two are fundamentally different by nature.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

On the road with his father over the past year, Chase had thought a lot about the word fate and decided that it was one of those little words with a big meaning….

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

Related Words

• callous
• dangerous
• evil
• hard
• malicious
• nasty
• rough
• ugly
• vicious
• vile