noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a form/mode/method/means of travel
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I find the train a more comfortable mode of travel.
a means of communication (= a way of exchanging information )
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There were no roads and no means of communication with the people in the mountains.
a means of escape (= a way of escaping )
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She searched in vain for a means of escape.
a means of escape (= a way of forgetting about a bad situation )
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Drugs and alcohol are their only means of escape.
a means of expression
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Art is not just a means of expression, it is also a means of communication.
a means to an end (= a way of achieving what you want )
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To Joe, work was a means to an end, nothing more.
a means/mode/form of transport
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Horses and carts were the only means of transport.
a means/source of livelihood
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Fishing is the main source of livelihood for many people in the area.
an effective means
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Is reducing the speed limit an effective means of reducing accidents?
an efficient means
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The tram is a very efficient means of transport.
be far from clear/be by no means clear (= be very unclear )
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The directions she gave me were far from clear.
by/through peaceful means
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We must redistribute power in this country by peaceful means.
devise a means (= think of a way )
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We must devise a means of transport that does not pollute the atmosphere.
means of identification
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fingerprinting as a means of identification
means of propulsion
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research into liquid hydrogen as a means of propulsion
means test
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means-tested benefits
means/mode/form of transportation
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People need to get out of their cars and use other modes of transportation.
sth is by no means certain (= not definite )
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Victory was by no means certain for Smith.
the end justifies the means (= used to say that something bad is acceptable, if it achieves a good result )
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Their defence, that the end justifies the means, is not acceptable.
ways and means
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We are discussing ways and means of bringing jobs to our area.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
alternative
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Robert waved briefly, ducked, and looked for an alternative means of escape.
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Once you have a clue about the problem, try to get help via alternative means .
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We may need to find alternative means achieve some end.
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In both cases, Gingrich turned to charitable organizations as an alternative means of financing the projects.
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I wonder if she has thought of alternative means of transport?
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Ramsey-optimal prices are not concerned with alternative means of supply: hence they are in principle susceptible to competitive entry.
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It is possible to provide flexibility by alternative means using a group of workers who understand their role from the outset.
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They are alternative means of holding wealth.
effective
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This can often provide the most effective and speedy means of resolving a dispute.
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This was not just a very effective means to an end: it was an end in itself-and a gamble.
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Endoscopic injection, however, is still the most convenient and cost effective means for the arrest of peptic ulcer haemorrhage.
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More effective means had to be devised to enforce the Forest law to protect vert and venison, and to raise revenue.
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Vitamin supplements, which cost just a few cents a dose, are a highly effective means of prevention.
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We appear to be a long way from finding effective means of primary prevention of attempted suicide.
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Letter-writing has often been an effective means of direction and Paul made the most of it.
only
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Temporary leaflet only means of supplying essential information.
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For them, cable from a local receiving station would be the only possible means of getting the programmes.
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The only means of communication was sign language.
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But nowhere was any one principle of inheritance applied exclusively, and nowhere was inheritance the only means of transferring land rights.
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Dope was my only means of escape.
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The discipline is the only means by which these forces are consumed and thus destroyed.
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The making of a takeover offer is not the only means of obtaining control of a company.
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However, physical fighting is not the only means by which males compete with each other.
other
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Although such mixtures can not be separated by fractional distillation, they can be separated by other means .
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The government's response was to use the Freikorps and other repressive means to assert its authority.
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To these ends, other means have been developed over the years, most assiduously in the three Northern Tier states.
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The answer to this question was that they had other means of transport.
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The exploration of literary texts is not an elitist activity, distinct from the study of other means of communication.
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It's how they got supplies in, among other means .
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Perhaps they have had an experience of déjàvu which they can not explain by any other means .
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In 66 cases there was a statistically significant effect which could not be explained by any other means .
■ VERB
achieve
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Obviously, there is room for debate about the means of achieving those objectives and how accommodating our criteria should be.
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The lawyer is responsible for working with the client to decide the best means to achieve those objectives.
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We may need to find alternative means achieve some end.
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Where the consensus broke down was over the means used to achieve the goals.
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That done, we can begin to address ourselves to identifying the right technical and political means for achieving them.
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The quest for quality is continuing, but the best means of achieving it are debatable.
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It will also give guidance on means of achieving fair distribution of work within chambers.
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And for the first time, they had the means to achieve it.
become
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Whereas boys may become alienated from the means of learning, girls would be alienated more swiftly by the content of learning.
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Human experience becomes the means to comprehend and express our awareness of the sacred.
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For, as before, the credit instruments soon became used as means of exchange.
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The photographic camera thus became the foremost means for producing or recording such images.
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Creating rapport then becomes a means by which to maximise the potential for the extraction of information from interviewees.
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Under Johnwick, rehabilitation became the means whereby eligible patients were encouraged to leave voluntarily.
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Yet, in Dickinson's hands, ambiguity becomes the means of survival.
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It has become a central means by which Congress secures the accountability of executive and independent agencies.
find
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Opposition would certainly find other means of expressing itself.
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Daedalus himself, the wily artisan who wrought the whole thing, could find no means to pierce its mystery from within.
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Next, find out the best means of getting there.
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First Bank officials, however, contend they will find other means to bolster earnings and maintain their projections.
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Could we not find out some means ?
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The national government seemingly could find no constitutional means to intercede to protect its black citizens.
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With this growing experience he has found a means to fight more effectively for social justice and the needs of his fellow-workers.
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One action is to meet with school staff to find the means to help Mike at school.
offer
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Culturing microorganisms offers a highly efficient means of producing high-protein food supplements for a hungry world of the future.
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The weakness of the enemy offers the revolution fuller means of recovery from temporary defeats than is the case in imperialist countries.
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They offer no other means of solving this problem and imply that social inequality is an inevitable feature of human society.
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It is worth reiterating here the point that the media offer a means of influencing your target audiences.
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The clear distinction between the old and modern lacquers also offers hope of a means of identifying fakes.
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It is now suggested that the proposed Royal Infirmary hospital trust offers the best means of taking the plan forward.
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For example a potential 3,000 house settlement between Cambridge and Ely offers the best means to provide more housing.
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This provides regular income from subscriptions and offers a means of restricting usage if necessary.
provide
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Freud acknowledges the unconscious and provides a means of exploring it and of living with it.
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Present-value calculations provide a simple means of quantifying this time value of money by using the reciprocal of the compound interest formula.
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This culture provides both the means and the incentives for discovering and remedying errors.
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In addition the diversity of cell surface markers provides a means of privacy and defense.
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In either application, the device is intended to provide a means of systematically ordering the subdivisions of a given number.
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In other words, cyberspace provides a means for individual expression that would not be appropriate or acceptable in real life.
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The honours system provides governments with a means of distributing favours at no cost.
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It provides a means of improving performance at a minimal cost.
use
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It is used as a means of temporary escape from circumstances that the individual finds unbearable.
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All agreed that the United States had to stand up to the aggressors from the north, using whatever means were necessary.
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It denies the appropriateness of using any political means to pursue such ends.
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Sometimes people have learning problems and they use visual means to help them understand.
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It could also be used as a means of overcoming excessively long waiting lists in some areas.
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You must use whatever means are available to you and avoid wasting time on those that are not.
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Costs would be limited by keeping the offer open only until 1995 and by using a means test.
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One might use morphological rather than syntactic means .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
by fair means or foul
know/understand what it means to be sth
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If you are overweight, then you know what it means to be in emotional pain.
not by any manner of means
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You know, it isn't all sweetness and light here, not by any manner of means.
this means war
woman/man etc of independent means
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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A university professor who used his modest means to collect over 300 valuable artworks has donated them to the National Gallery.
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E-mail has become an increasingly important means of business communication.
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Education and training are the most effective means of improving the nation's economy.
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He's given up his lecturing job, but he does have private means .
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He came to power by means of a military coup in 1960.
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He had the means to pay, but he refused on principle.
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I think private schooling would be well beyond our means .
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Many tropical countries welcome people of independent means as long-term residents.
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She was required to pay a $500 fee, which appeared to be within her means .
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The best choice for elderly people with limited means is index-linked certificates.
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The Council is introducing means tests for housing tenants.
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The judge ruled that Smith had been elected by unlawful means .
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We aim to use peaceful means to bring about change.
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You should not regard the course simply as a means to an end.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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If a customer inquires about a better interest rate or a tax deferral plan, by all means make a referral.
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One of the simplest means is to buy a tally counter.
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The lord lieutenancy was originally devised by the Tudors as a means of internal security.
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The operation of rental and freehold land markets is compared to inheritance as a means of access to land.