/ miːn; NAmE / verb , adjective , noun
■ verb
( meant , meant / ment; NAmE /)
HAVE AS MEANING
1.
(not used in the progressive tenses) mean sth (to sb) to have sth as a meaning :
[ vn ]
What does this sentence mean?
What is meant by 'batch processing'?
Does the name 'David Berwick' mean anything to you (= do you know who he is) ?
[ v ( that )]
The flashing light means (that) you must stop.
INTEND AS MEANING
2.
(not used in the progressive tenses) to intend to say sth on a particular occasion :
[ vn ]
What did he mean by that remark?
'Perhaps we should try another approach.' ' What do you mean? (= I don't understand what you are suggesting.) '
What do you mean , you thought I wouldn't mind? (= of course I mind and I am very angry.)
What she means is that there's no point in waiting here.
I always found him a little strange, if you know what I mean (= if you understand what I mean by 'strange') .
I know what you mean (= I understand and feel sympathy) . I hated learning to drive too.
( informal )
It was like—weird. Know what I mean?
I see what you mean (= I understand although I may not agree) , but I still think it's worth trying.
See what I mean (= I was right and this proves it, doesn't it) ? She never agrees to anything I suggest.
'But Pete doesn't know we're here!' ' That's what I mean! (= that's what I have been trying to tell you.) '
Do you mean Ann Smith or Mary Smith?
[ v ( that )]
Did he mean (that) he was dissatisfied with our service?
You mean (= are you telling me) we have to start all over again?
HAVE AS PURPOSE
3.
mean sth (as sth) | mean what ... | mean sth for sb to have sth as a purpose or intention
SYN intend :
[ vn ]
What did she mean by leaving so early (= why did she do it) ?
Don't be upset—I'm sure she meant it as a compliment.
He means what he says (= is not joking, exaggerating, etc.) .
Don't laugh! I mean it (= I am serious) .
Don't be angry. I'm sure she meant it for the best (= intended to be helpful) .
He means trouble (= to cause trouble) .
The chair was clearly meant for a child.
[ v to inf ]
She means to succeed.
I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't mean to .
[ vn to inf ]
I didn't mean you to read the letter.
I'm feeling very guilty— I've been meaning to call my parents for days, but still haven't got around to it.
You're meant to (= you are supposed to) pay before you go in.
[ v ( that )] ( formal )
I never meant (that) you should come alone.
INTEND SB TO BE / DO STH
4.
[ often passive ] mean sb for sth | mean sb to be sth to intend sb to be or do sth :
[ vn ]
I was never meant for the army (= did not have the qualities needed to become a soldier) .
Philip and Kim were meant for each other (= are very suitable as partners) .
[ vn to inf ]
His father meant him to be an engineer.
She did everything to get the two of them together, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be .
HAVE AS RESULT
5.
to have sth as a result or a likely result
SYN entail :
[ vn ]
Spending too much now will mean a shortage of cash next year.
[ vn to inf ]
Do you have any idea what it means to be poor?
[ v ( that )]
We'll have to be careful with money but that doesn't mean (that) we can't enjoy ourselves.
[ v -ing ]
This new order will mean working overtime.
[ vn -ing ]
The injury could mean him missing next week's game.
BE IMPORTANT
6.
[ vn ] [ no passive ] mean sth to sb to be of value or importance to sb :
Your friendship means a great deal to me.
$20 means a lot (= represents a lot of money) when you live on $100 a week.
Money means nothing to him .
Her children mean the world to her .
•
IDIOMS
- be meant to be sth
- I mean
- mean business
- mean (sb) no harm | not mean (sb) any harm
- mean to say
- mean well
■ adjective
( mean·er , mean·est )
NOT GENEROUS
1.
( BrE ) ( NAmE cheap ) not willing to give or share things, especially money :
She's always been mean with money.
OPP generous
—see also stingy
UNKIND
2.
mean (to sb) ( of people or their behaviour ) unkind, for example by not letting sb have or do sth :
Don't be so mean to your little brother!
ANGRY / VIOLENT
3.
( especially NAmE ) likely to become angry or violent :
That's a mean-looking dog.
SKILFUL
4.
( informal , especially NAmE ) very good and skilful :
He's a mean tennis player.
She plays a mean game of chess.
AVERAGE
5.
[ only before noun ] ( technical ) average; between the highest and the lowest, etc. :
the mean temperature
INTELLIGENCE
6.
( formal ) ( of a person's understanding or ability ) not very great :
This should be clear even to the meanest intelligence.
POOR
7.
( literary ) poor and dirty in appearance :
mean houses / streets
8.
( old-fashioned ) born into or coming from a low social class
► mean·ly adjective
► mean·ness noun [ U ]
•
IDIOMS
- be no mean ...
■ noun
—see also means
MIDDLE WAY
1.
~ (between A and B) a quality, condition, or way of doing sth that is in the middle of two extremes and better than either of them :
He needed to find a mean between frankness and rudeness.
AVERAGE
2.
(also arithˌmetic ˈmean ) ( mathematics ) the value found by adding together all the numbers in a group, and dividing the total by the number of numbers
3.
(also geoˈmetric mean ) ( mathematics ) a value between two extreme values, found by adding them together and dividing the total by 2
•
IDIOMS
- the happy / golden mean
••
WORD ORIGIN
verb Old English mænan , of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch meenen and German meinen , from an Indo-European root shared by mind .
adjective senses 1 to 4 and adjective senses 6 to 8 Middle English , shortening of Old English gemǣne , of Germanic origin, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin communis common. The original sense was common to two or more people , later inferior in rank , leading to senses 6-8 and a sense ignoble, small-minded , from which senses 1 to 3 (which became common in the 19th cent.) arose.
adjective sense 5 and noun Middle English : from Old French meien , from Latin medianus middle, from medius mid.