meant

[ ment ]

/ mɛnt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR meant ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

simple past tense and past participle of mean¹.

Nearby words

means test, means-test, means-tested, meanspirited, meanspiritedly, meant, meantime, meantone system, meanwhile, meany, meany, george

Related forms

half-meant, adjectiveun·meant, adjective

Definition for meant (2 of 2)

mean

[ meen ]

/ min /

verb (used with object), meant, mean·ing.

to have in mind as one's purpose or intention; intend: 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.

verb (used without object), meant, mean·ing.

to be minded or disposed; have intentions: Beware, she means ill, despite her solicitous manner.

Origin of mean

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

Can be confused

mean mien

Synonym study

1. See intend.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for meant

I meant no harm by it, but I remembered how this person talked, and I did it for my Mom and she was not into it.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Nothing in it was meant to change the basic operations of the capitalist economy or to intervene aggressively in class relations.
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society|Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Who knew that “we shall overcome” meant “we, the few, shall book covers every decade or so, maybe, sometimes, if we are in style.”
One Vogue Cover Doesn’t Solve Fashion’s Big Race Problem|Danielle Belton|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The Moscow protest was not sanctioned, which meant every participant risked arrest.
Russia’s Rebel In Chief Escapes House Arrest|Anna Nemtsova|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In general, their presence is meant to throw you off your game by design.
Brie Larson’s Hollywood Transformation|Marlow Stern|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I will not say what chapter he found, for, after all, I doubt if we had any real notion of what it meant.
Wilfrid Cumbermede|George MacDonald
No, Pre Flix had not known, but he certainly did come on purpose and on purpose he meant to stay.
A Tatter of Scarlet|S. R. Crockett
"I don't suppose you dreamed he meant kidnapping either," observed Bob.
The Rules of the Game|Stewart Edward White
It meant, too, that the additional disgrace of being summarily dismissed would not descend upon her.
The Trail Horde|Charles Alden Seltzer
It was a friendship that would have meant much to Douglas, even if it had not led to an interesting romance.
Stephen A. Douglas|Allen Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for meant (1 of 4)

meant

/ (mɛnt) /

verb

the past tense and past participle of mean 1

British Dictionary definitions for meant (2 of 4)

mean

/ (miːn) /

verb means, meaning or meant (mainly tr)

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

(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) intendshe didn't mean to hurt it

(may take a clause as object) to say or do in all seriousnessthe boss means what he says about strikes

(often passive often foll by for) 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; representexamples help show exactly what a word means

(may take a clause as object) to produce; causethe weather will mean long traffic delays

(may take a clause as object) to foretell; portendthose dark clouds mean rain

to have the importance ofmoney means nothing to him

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

mean business to be in earnest

Word Origin for mean

Old English mænan; compare Old Saxon mēnian to intend, Dutch meenen

usage

In standard English, mean should not be followed by for when expressing intention: I didn't mean this to happen (not I didn't mean for this to happen)

British Dictionary definitions for meant (3 of 4)

mean

/ (miːn) /

adjective

mainly British miserly, ungenerous, or petty

humble, obscure, or lowlyhe rose from mean origins to high office

despicable, ignoble, or callousa mean action

poor or shabbymean clothing; a mean abode

informal, mainly US and Canadian bad-tempered; vicious

informal ashamedhe felt mean about not letting the children go to the zoo

informal, mainly US unwell; in low spirits

slang excellent; skilfulhe plays a mean trombone

no mean

of high qualityno mean performer
difficultno mean feat

Derived Forms

meanly, adverbmeanness, noun

Word Origin for mean

C12: from Old English gemǣne common; related to Old High German gimeini, Latin communis common, at first with no pejorative sense

British Dictionary definitions for meant (4 of 4)

mean

/ (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 (def. 2) 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

Word Origin for mean

C14: via Anglo-Norman from Old French moien, from Late Latin mediānus median

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for meant

mean

[ mēn ]

n.

Something having a position, quality, or condition midway between extremes; a medium.

A number that typifies a set of numbers, such as a geometric mean or an arithmetic mean.

The average value of a set of numbers.

adj.

Occupying a middle or intermediate position between two extremes.

Intermediate in size, extent, quality, time, or degree; medium.

Science definitions for meant

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 23 = 46, the means are 3 and 4. Compare extreme.

Culture definitions for meant (1 of 2)

mean

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

Culture definitions for meant (2 of 2)

mean

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.)

Idioms and Phrases with meant

mean

In addition to the idioms beginning with mean

mean business
mean to

, also see under

means