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mean
1[ meen ]
verb (used with object)
- to have in mind as one's purpose or intention:
I meant to compliment you on your work.
Synonyms: contemplate, aim, plan, intend
- to intend for a particular purpose, destination, etc.:
They were meant for each other.
Synonyms: foreordain, destine
- 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.
verb (used without object)
- to be minded or disposed; have intentions:
Beware, she means ill, despite her solicitous manner.
mean
2[ meen ]
adjective
a mean remark;
He gets mean when he doesn't get his way.
- small-minded or ignoble:
mean motives.
Synonyms: despicable, contemptible
- penurious, stingy, or miserly:
a person who is mean about money.
Synonyms: selfish, ungenerous, parsimonious, tight, close, illiberal
- inferior in grade, quality, or character:
no mean reward.
- low in status, rank, or dignity:
mean servitors.
Synonyms: undignified, plebeian, humble, common
- of little importance or consequence:
mean little details.
Synonyms: poor, little, paltry, petty, insignificant, inconsequential
- unimposing or shabby:
a mean abode.
- small, humiliated, or ashamed:
You should feel mean for being so stingy.
- Informal. in poor physical condition.
- troublesome or vicious; bad-tempered:
a mean old horse.
- Slang. skillful or impressive:
He blows a mean trumpet.
mean
3[ meen ]
noun
- Usually means. (used with a singular or plural verb) 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.
- Statistics. expected value. See mathematical expectation ( def 2 ).
- Logic. the middle term in a syllogism.
adjective
- 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.
mean
1/ miːn /
verb
- may take a clause as object or an infinitive to intend to convey or express
- may take a clause as object or an infinitive intend
she didn't mean to hurt it
- may take a clause as object to say or do in all seriousness
the boss means what he says about strikes
- often passiveoften foll byfor to destine or design (for a certain person or purpose)
she was meant for greater things
- may take a clause as object to denote or connote; signify; represent
examples help show exactly what a word means
- may take a clause as object to produce; cause
the weather will mean long traffic delays
- may take a clause as object to foretell; portend
those dark clouds mean rain
- to have the importance of
money means nothing to him
- intr to have the intention of behaving or acting (esp in the phrases mean well or mean ill )
- mean businessto be in earnest
mean
2/ miːn /
adjective
- miserly, ungenerous, or petty
- humble, obscure, or lowly
he rose from mean origins to high office
- despicable, ignoble, or callous
a mean action
- poor or shabby
mean clothing
a mean abode
- informal.bad-tempered; vicious
- informal.ashamed
he felt mean about not letting the children go to the zoo
- informal.unwell; in low spirits
- slang.excellent; skilful
he plays a mean trombone
- no mean
- of high quality
no mean performer
- difficult
no mean feat
mean
3/ miːn /
noun
- 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 See also geometric mean
- 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
adjective
- intermediate or medium in size, quantity, etc
- occurring halfway between extremes or limits; average
mean
/ mēn /
- A number or quantity having a value that is intermediate between other numbers or quantities, especially an arithmetic mean or average.
- See more at arithmetic mean
- 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.
- Compare extreme
mean
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 .)
mean
2- An average in statistics . ( See under “Physical Sciences and Mathematics.” )
Usage
Derived Forms
- ˈmeanly, adverb
- ˈmeanness, noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of mean1
Origin of mean2
Word History and Origins
Origin of mean1
Origin of mean2
Origin of mean3
Idioms and Phrases
- by all means,
- (in emphasis) certainly:
Go, by all means.
- at any cost; without fail.
- by any means, in any way; at all:
We were not surprised at the news by any means.
- by means of, with the help of; by the agency of; through:
We crossed the stream by means of a log.
- by no means, in no way; not at all:
The prize is by no means certain.
- 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.
More idioms and phrases containing mean
- means
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
The term “off-roading” means different things to different people.
The most recent data, through Tuesday, indicates that about 53 percent of deaths have occurred in blue states — meaning that 47 percent have occurred in red ones.
Some states are also mandated to remove voters deemed “inactive,” meaning they didn’t respond to a mailer sent to confirm their address and haven’t voted in the last few elections.
I mean, I thought I’d take it right off the table right this very minute.
One doctor said some patients attacked their peers or employees as a way to get out of the hospital, even if it meant going to jail.
I mean, physically, mentally, you know, in every way, shape, and form.
What they actually mean by that is, you know, he actually knows some people that are poor.
What does Bondi mean that clerks now should “determine how to proceed”?
What is most troubling is our – and I do mean “our” and not “their” – never treating these situations as learning opportunities.
They want Marvin to be as mean and as lonely and as trashy as the characters he portrays.
Hilda, trembling at the door, more than half expected Mr. Orgreave to say: "You mean, she's invited herself."
He wanted to tell her that if she called her father, it would mean the end of everything for them, but he withheld this.
It was difficult, with the mean appliances of the time, to wring subsistence from the reluctant earth.
With Bacon, experientia does not always mean observation; and may mean either experience or experiment.
My husband detests them; on the contrary, I like those carriages, for they tell me of happy—I mean to say, of former times.
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Mean Vs. Median Vs. Mode Vs. Average
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.
Quiz yourself on mean vs. median vs. mode vs. average!
Should mean, median, mode, or average be used in the following sentence?
The most frequently repeated test score is 80, so it’s the _____ of the set.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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