Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To be used to convey; denote.
- intransitive verb To act as a symbol of; signify or represent.
- intransitive verb To intend to convey or indicate.
- intransitive verb To have as a purpose or an intention; intend.
- intransitive verb To design, intend, or destine for a certain purpose or end.
- intransitive verb To have as a consequence; bring about.
- intransitive verb To have the importance or value of.
- intransitive verb To have intentions of a specified kind; be disposed.
- idiom (mean business) To be in earnest.
- noun Something having a position, quality, or condition midway between extremes; a medium.
- noun A number that typifies a set of numbers, such as a geometric mean or an arithmetic mean.
- noun The average value of a set of numbers.
- noun Logic The middle term in a syllogism.
- noun A method, a course of action, or an instrument by which an act can be accomplished or an end achieved.
- noun Money, property, or other wealth.
- noun Great wealth.
- adjective Occupying a middle or intermediate position between two extremes.
- adjective Intermediate in size, extent, quality, time, or degree; medium.
- idiom (by all means) Without fail; certainly.
- idiom (by any means) In any way possible; to any extent.
- idiom (by means of) With the use of; owing to.
- idiom (by no means) In no sense; certainly not.
- adjective Lacking in kindness; unkind.
- adjective Cruel, spiteful, or malicious.
- adjective Expressing spite or malice.
- adjective Tending toward or characterized by cruelty or violence.
- adjective Extremely unpleasant or disagreeable.
- adjective Ignoble; base: synonym: base.
- adjective Miserly; stingy.
- adjective Low in value, rank, or social status.
- adjective Common or poor in appearance; shabby.
- adjective Hard to cope with; difficult or troublesome.
- adjective Excellent; skillful.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To demean; carry; conduct.
- To have in mind, view, or contemplation; intend; hence, to purpose or design.
- To signify, or be intended to signify; indicate; import; denote.
- To mention; tell; express.
- To be minded or disposed; have intentions of some kind: usually joined with an adverb: as, he means well.
- To have thought or ideas; have meaning.
- To speak; talk.
- Occupying a middle position; midway between two extremes; median: now chiefly in certain technical uses. See phrases below.
- Of medium size, extent, etc.; medium, middling, or moderate.
- Coming between two events or points of time; intervening; intermediate: only in the phrase in the mean time or while.
- Intermediate in a number of greater and less values, quantities, or amounts; forming an average between two or more terms of any kind; average; specifically, in mathematics, having a value which is a symmetrical function of other values of the same sort, such that, were all those other values to be equal, the value of the function would be equal to them all (compare II., 4): as, the mean breadth of a country; the mean distance of the earth from the sun.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word mean.
Examples
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There's an underlying assumption, I think, that his words didn't mean anything (because the Clinton's words don't really * mean* anything - they just affect outcomes).
Election Central | Talking Points Memo | Hillary On The Debate: Obama Is "Very Frustrated" 2009
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"And you realise that I mean it, _mean_ it, with every fibre of me."
The Daughters of Danaus Mona Caird
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"Oh, you were mean -- _mean_ -- to shame me so," and floods of tears came again.
The Spenders A Tale of the Third Generation Harry Leon Wilson 1903
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Quercus had a mean body size of 6. 35±0.12 mm (mean± se), while those individuals belonging to the other tree cover categories had mean body sizes of 5. 26±0.15, 5. 18±0.09, and
PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Jos? R. Verd? et al. 2010
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(c) Record the mean of the two coefficients obtained in (a) and (b) as the _mean phenol coefficient_, or simply as the ~Phenol Coefficient~.
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(If you’ve never listened to Aesop, what I mean is this; he is the pioneer and master of Dadaist hip-hop, and his songs are chock-full of spectacular lines that mean nothing.)
f.l.a.s.h.f.l.o.o.d savemyseoul 2008
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I mean it’s one thing to steal a car, but to crash it and bring it back to show the owner is just mean
goldylockz22 Diary Entry goldylockz22 2004
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And so I’m also thinking about repiercing my nose, but I’m not sure because I mean I liked it, it was cute yanno, but I mean it was kind of annoying too.
aleighk21 Diary Entry aleighk21 2004
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But I can't be mean -- _mean_ enough to crawl back now. "
The Splendid Folly Margaret Pedler
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Most people are familiar with the term mean drunk.
Surviving in an Angry World Charles F. Stanley 2010
leaden commented on the word mean
Something unmeant occurred when the Wiktionary definition was parsed (and number eight is clearly a bug here or a bad edit there), but it comes off vaguely narrative and poetic.
September 30, 2011
marky commented on the word mean
too many definitions of this word. ugh.
January 7, 2016