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