MEAN


Meaning of MEAN in English

I. ˈmēn adjective

( -er/-est )

Etymology: Middle English mene, from imene, from Old English gemǣne; akin to Old High German gimeini common, Gothic gamains, Latin communis; all probably from a prehistoric western Indo-European compound whose first constituent is represented by Latin com- and whose second constituent is akin to Latin munus service, gift, Sanskrit mayate he exchanges — more at co-

1. now dialect Britain : held or done in common

2. : destitute of distinction or eminence : common , low , humble

3. : destitute of power or acumen : ordinary , inferior

a man of mean intelligence

4. : of little value or account : of poor or inferior quality or status : worthy of little or no regard : shabby , contemptible

the meaner quarters of the town

living in mean circumstances

5. : lacking dignity of mind : low-minded : ignoble , base : destitute of honor

a mean motive

6. : penurious , stingy , closefisted

mean hospitality

7.

a. : characterized by petty selfishness or malice : contemptibly disobliging or unkind

a mean surly man

b. : tending to harass or distress by reason of vexatious characteristics or conditions

a mean soil to work

a mean place to drive a car in

c. slang : of a kind to impress (as an adversary or an observer) : excellent , effective

pitches a mean curve

dances a mean tango

8.

a. : lowered in self-esteem : ashamed

his ready cooperation made me feel mean for what I had said

b. : sick , unwell , indisposed

felt thoroughly mean with a cold

II. adverb

( -er/-est )

: in a low, petty, or contemptible way

acted mean to us

a narrow mean -thinking busybody

III. verb

( meant ˈment ; or archaic meaned ; meant or archaic meaned ; meaning ; means )

Etymology: Middle English menen, from Old English mǣnan; akin to Old High German meinen to have in mind, Old Slavic mēniti to mention, consider

transitive verb

1. : to have in the mind especially as a purpose or intention : purpose , design , intend

houses are meant for use

means to make it difficult for you

meant to come home early

2. : to serve or intend to convey, show, or indicate : signify , denote , express

what do you mean by such conduct

these words mean nothing to me

3. : to have significance or importance to the extent or degree of : count for

health means everything

a happy home means much to a child

music means little to me

success without recognition means nothing to him

her happiness meant the world to him

4. : to intend for or direct to a particular individual

his criticism is meant for all of us

do you mean this for me

intransitive verb

1. : to have an intended purpose — used chiefly with well or ill

meant well but seldom carried anything to a conclusion

2. obsolete : talk , speak , tell

3. obsolete : to hold an opinion : think

Synonyms:

mean , denote , signify , and import can have, in common, the sense of to convey (an idea, an interpretation, and so on) to the mind or understanding. mean is the most common and general in carrying the basic sense, although it can often connote evaluation or appraisal; in applying to a term it involves the term's full content

to understand what foreign words mean

what a person's actions mean

disunion, incoherence and inconsistency mean failure in design — C.W.H.Johnson

to understand what an obligation means

the term “beauty” can mean many things

denote can contrast with signify in having as its subject something that serves as an outward sign or visible indication; in application to a term it implies the limited and defined designation of a term disentangled from connotation or unessential association

slumped into a chair near the doorway, his posture denoting complete exhaustion — L.C.Douglas

that curious love of green, which … in nations is said to denote a laxity, if not a decadence of morals — Oscar Wilde

the best way to show what a term denotes is to point at the object it stands for

signify can contrast with denote in having as its subject something of a symbolic or representative character; it can also carry a stronger implication of the importance of the conveyed meaning; in application to a term it stresses the symbolic relationship between term and idea

he had hopes that her demure and reticent deportment signified that the effervescence of youth had evaporated — Robert Grant †1940

the third figure, with a background of plow handles and mining tools, signifies agriculture and mining — American Guide Series: Michigan

the loss of his wife signified more than he could ever put into words

the term “bread and butter” signifies the material necessities of life

import can carry the idea of offering for comprehension or intellectual grasp, often, however, being virtually interchangeable with signify; in application to a term it can stress the implications involved in the term's interpretation as distinct from its denotation

the radical ideas imported little to conservative readers except the idea of outrageous thinking

though a term's denotation may be matter of fact, in its connotations the term may import revolution

Synonym: see in addition intend .

- mean business

IV. verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Middle English menen, from Old English mǣnan to lament, mourn for, from (assumed) Old English mān lamentation, moan — more at moan

transitive verb

1. now chiefly Scotland : to complain or lament over : resent

2. now chiefly Scotland : pity

3. now chiefly Scotland : to present as a complaint

intransitive verb

chiefly Scotland : lament , complain , bemoan

V. noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English mene, from menen to complain or lament over

now chiefly Scotland : lament , complaint

VI. noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English mene, from Middle French meien, moien, from Old French, from meien, moien, adjective — more at mean VII

1.

a. : something (as a step, stage, connection) intervening, intermediate, or intermediary

so do I wish the crown, being so far off and so I chide the means that keep me from it — Shakespeare

b. or meane

(1) : the middle voice in 14th century fauxbourdon ; broadly : the middle (as alto or tenor) part of a harmonized musical composition

(2) : the alto of a consort of viols

(3) : one of the middle strings of a viol

great mean

c. : a middle point or something that is in or near a middle point : something that falls between extremes (as of place, time, number, rate): as

(1) : something (as prudence, temperateness) that is intermediate between excess and deficiency and represents moderation

the moral mean is no mathematical mean between extremes, but is, in any given case, relative to persons and places — Lucius Garvin

(2) Confucianism : the course of moderate action between extremes in the development of the virtues of temperance and prudence

(3) Buddhism : the middle way : the course of moderation between asceticism and self-indulgence

d.

(1) : a quantity of the same kind as the members of a set that in some sense is representative of them all and that is located within their range in accordance with a set rule

(2) : the mean value of a variable between given limits

(3) : either of the middle two terms of a proportion

2.

a. : something by the use or help of which a desired end is attained or made more likely : an agent, tool, device, measure, plan, or policy for accomplishing or furthering a purpose — usually used in plural but sing. or plural in constr.

secure peace by honorable means

the justification of barbarous means by holy ends — H.J.Muller

means … for keeping the prices of building materials high — T.W.Arnold

a continuous belt is a means of power transmission from one shaft to another

b. obsolete : mediator , intercessor , go-between — sometimes used in plural but sing. in constr.

c. obsolete : favorable condition : opportunity

3. means plural : resources (as of force or wealth) available for disposal : material resources in such supply as to form the basis for an economically secure and sheltered life

a man of means

broadly : wealth , money

4. obsolete : meantime

Synonyms:

instrument , agent , instrumentality , organ , medium , vehicle , channel : mean or means , the latter now the common form in all uses, is a very general term applicable to anything employed in performing or executing some end

the habit of regarding the laboring class as a mere means to the maintenance of the rest — G.L.Dickinson

the principal means of transportation was … Afghan camels — Herbert Hoover

language as a means of social control — J.B.Carroll

faith in science as a means … to knowledge and grace — F.B.Millett

instrument may suggest a certain ready applicability to the matter under consideration rather than only the bare fact of use, and with reference to people susceptibility to use or willingness to be used

tariffs and immigration restriction are chief instruments of this economic nationalism — J.A.Hobson

the American public school as an instrument for strengthening the spirit of national unity — J.B.Conant

extremes of corruption were reached — and here again the eunuchs were sinister and convenient instruments — Owen and Eleanor Lattimore

agent in reference to natural phenomena may designate an inner capability and suggest only incidentally, if that, its being used; in reference to matters personal and social it stresses being directed by another in his interest but lacks other suggestion or value notion

the bee makes honey, the spider secretes a filament; you can hardly say that any of these agents believes — T.S.Eliot

her great lords, spiritual and temporal … the agents of her will — Henry Adams

an unconscious agent in the hands of Providence when you recalled me — Willa Cather

instrumentality may suggest the fact of serving as an instrument but in today's English it is likely to suggest a means or agency which is a minor part of a larger entity or under the control of a subsuming organization

in the American colonies, the newspapers were a major instrumentality throughout the entire struggle for independence — F.L.Mott

governments or subdivisions or instrumentalities thereof — U.S. Code

organ suggests a functioning part of a larger especially organic whole, or more specif., a means of communication, especially a controlled or proprietary one

the Council of State was a small body that met with the king three times a week, and it was the pivotal organ of government — Stringfellow Barr

the Journal is the organ of the American Medical Association

medium indicates an intermediate means, especially a means of conveyance or communication, in connection with the latter a favored or accustomed means

he had now in the periodical a medium for his delicate poetic talent — S.T.Williams

each medium says something that cannot be uttered as well or as completely in any other tongue — John Dewey

vehicle likewise indicates a means of conveying or communicating; it may be more specific and tangible than medium

Roosevelt's speeches were … the vehicle by which he set in motion tremendous social and moral forces — H.L.Hopkins

channel suggests a course or path of transmission or communication more forcefully than a means

a petition was drafted, signed by sixty-seven scientists, and sent through proper channels to the President of the United States — Harrison Brown

Synonym: see in addition average .

- by all means

- by any means

- by means of

- by no means

VII. adjective

Etymology: Middle English mene, from Middle French meien, moien, from Old French, from Latin medianus — more at median

1. : occupying a middle position : occurring between the limits or extremes: as

a. obsolete : intermediate in space

b. : intermediate in order, rank, or status

the mean term of a syllogism

c. : intermediate in time

d. : intermediate in kind or degree

pursue a mean course in politics

2. : occupying a position about midway between extremes: as

a. : near the average or norm

of a mean stature

b. : of a moderate degree of excellence : middling , mediocre

3. : serving as a means : intermediary

4. : having an intermediate value between two extremes : average

the mean high tide is 8 feet

VIII. adverb

Etymology: Middle English meane, from meane, mene occupying a middle position, intermediate — more at mean VII

1. obsolete : moderately

2. obsolete : comparatively less

3. obsolete : so as to fall between

IX. transitive verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Middle English menen, from mene, n. — more at mean VI

obsolete : mediate

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.