mean
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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means,
present (3rd person singular)
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meant,
past participle, past
-
meaning
present participle
-
to have in mind as one's purpose or intention.
I meant to compliment you on your work.
- Synonyms:
- contemplate, aim, plan, intend
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to intend for a particular purpose, destination, etc..
They were meant for each other.
- Synonyms:
- foreordain, destine
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to intend to express or indicate.
What do you mean by “liberal”?
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to have as its sense or signification; signify.
The word “freedom” means many things to many people.
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to bring, cause, or produce as a result.
This bonus means that we can take a trip to Florida.
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to have (certain intentions) toward a person.
He didn't mean you any harm.
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to have the value of; assume the importance of.
Money means everything to them. She means the world to him.
verb (used without object)
-
means,
present (3rd person singular)
-
meant,
past participle, past
-
meaning
present participle
idioms
adjective
-
meaner,
comparative
-
meanest
superlative
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- despicable, contemptible
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penurious, stingy, or miserly.
a person who is mean about money.
- Synonyms:
- selfish, ungenerous, illiberal, parsimonious, tight, close
-
inferior in grade, quality, or character.
no mean reward.
-
low in status, rank, or dignity.
mean servitors.
- Synonyms:
- plebeian, undignified, 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.
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Informal. in poor physical condition.
-
troublesome or vicious; bad-tempered.
a mean old horse.
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Slang. skillful or impressive.
He blows a mean trumpet.
noun
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means
plural
-
(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.
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means,
-
available resources, especially money.
They lived beyond their means.
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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.
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Mathematics.
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a quantity having a value intermediate between the values of other quantities; an average, especially the arithmetic mean.
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either the second or third term in a proportion of four terms.
-
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Statistics. expected value. See mathematical expectation.
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Logic. the middle term in a syllogism.
adjective
-
meaner,
comparative
-
meanest
superlative
idioms
-
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.
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by no means, in no way; not at all.
The prize is by no means certain.
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by all means,
-
(in emphasis) certainly.
Go, by all means.
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at any cost; without fail.
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adjective
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miserly, ungenerous, or petty
-
humble, obscure, or lowly
he rose from mean origins to high office
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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
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informal unwell; in low spirits
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slang excellent; skilful
he plays a mean trombone
-
-
of high quality
no mean performer
-
difficult
no mean feat
-
verb
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(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
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(may take a clause as object) to say or do in all seriousness
the boss means what he says about strikes
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to destine or design (for a certain person or purpose)
she was meant for greater things
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(may take a clause as object) to denote or connote; signify; represent
examples help show exactly what a word means
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(may take a clause as object) to produce; cause
the weather will mean long traffic delays
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(may take a clause as object) to foretell; portend
those dark clouds mean rain
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to have the importance of
money means nothing to him
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(intr) to have the intention of behaving or acting (esp in the phrases mean well or mean ill )
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to be in earnest
noun
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the middle point, state, or course between limits or extremes
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moderation
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maths
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the second and third terms of a proportion, as b and c in a/b = c/d
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another name for average See also geometric mean
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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
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intermediate or medium in size, quantity, etc
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occurring halfway between extremes or limits; average
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A number or quantity having a value that is intermediate between other numbers or quantities, especially an arithmetic mean or average.
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See more at arithmetic mean
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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.
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Compare extreme
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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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meansimple
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meanssimple
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have meantperfect
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has meantperfect
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am meaningprogressive
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are meaningprogressive
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is meaningprogressive
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have been meaningperfect progressive
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has been meaningperfect progressive
Past
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meantsimple
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had meantperfect
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was meaningprogressive
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were meaningprogressive
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had been meaningperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing mean
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Psychology
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
What does a new US TikTok deal mean for users?
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
If the eagles pair up, it doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
And by “they,” I mean Chris Stewart, who is the man behind the marble, as it were.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026
Does this mean the bull market in crypto is back on?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
“No. I mean, yes. Well, we are a few weeks early. So, it’s a super surprise party.”
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
The lack of a final agreement means that new 50-percent duties impacting some $20 billion worth of goods, or 5.5 percent of Canadian exports to the United States, came into force.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
But agent work begets human work: Onboarding customers at a faster clip means needing to respond to more customer requests, for example.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
A fall in the dollar means US goods exports become cheaper, but imported goods may become more expensive due to the weaker currency.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
In an interview, he said the twist program would lead to a weaker dollar, which at the margin means more inflation.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Her name, like the others, was well chosen: it comes from the Spanish word dulce, which means "sweet."
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
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
The meaner the Pistons get, the more their record improves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
In turn, increased efficiency allows them to be meaner toward prospective employees.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026
But there’s still an element of camp and goofy humor that lingers, taking away from the script’s leaner, meaner elements.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2025
The Shy Maid was tied up in one of the meaner sections of the long, chaotic riverfront, between a listing poleboat that had not left the pier in years and the gaily painted mummers’ barge.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
And more than a few of my closest, meanest friends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
"Candidates should not try to be the meanest sheriff."
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
But the standout character is "queen bee" Regina, head of the Plastics clique and the meanest of the mean girls.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
I was behind the wheel of the biggest, meanest, greenest, most American street-legal machine in existence.
From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2025
The person you think is the dirtiest, meanest person in the world got a side you can get to—if you know how to do it.
From "Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago" by LeAlan Jones
But it has meant the club's hands are tied in the transfer window.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Treasury’s buyback announcement was meant to arrest a monthslong slide in bonds that has pushed borrowing costs higher across the economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Do we think Ossoff meant to trigger the firestorm he did?
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
Among other things, it is meant to boost "the alignment of development strategies", Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters ahead of Wang's visit.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
That meant a frustrating struggle to dig out the arrowheads, which they couldn’t afford to lose.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
His opponent responds by juggling his outstretched palms in a "6-7," a viral youth meme that has no fixed meaning but has become so ubiquitous that even Pope Leo has taken to performing it.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
The dollar the world's primary reserve currency, meaning it is held by central banks around the world in large quantities as part of their foreign exchange reserves.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
These visitors were imposing their own categories on another culture and missing other forms of meaning and allusion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The fulcrum of the owners’ position is the principle of “competitive balance,” meaning that every team should have comparable resources for mounting a playoff campaign.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
If I can hold on to something with meaning to him, something with memories, then maybe I’ll understand.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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.
