mean

verb (used with object)

to have in mind as one's purpose or intention; intend: I meant to compliment you on your work. Synonyms: contemplate.

to intend for a particular purpose, destination, etc.: They were meant for each other. Synonyms: destine, foreordain.

to intend to express or indicate: What do you mean by “liberal”?

to have as its sense or signification; signify: The word “freedom” means many things to many people. Synonyms: denote, indicate; import, imply, connote.

to bring, cause, or produce as a result: This bonus means that we can take a trip to Florida.

to have (certain intentions) toward a person: He didn't mean you any harm.

to have the value of; assume the importance of: Money means everything to them. She means the world to him.

verb (used without object)

to be minded or disposed; have intentions: Beware, she means ill, despite her solicitous manner.

00:10

Mean is always a great word to know.

So is number line. Does it mean:

ordered pair

line representing the set of all real numbers

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Idioms

mean well, to have good intentions; try to be kind or helpful: Her constant queries about your health must be tiresome, but I'm sure she means well.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English menen, Old English mǣnan; cognate with German meinen, Dutch meenen

Synonyms
1. See intend.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

adjective, mean·er, mean·est.

offensive, selfish, or unaccommodating; nasty; malicious: a mean remark; He gets mean when he doesn't get his way.

small-minded or ignoble: mean motives. Synonyms: contemptible, despicable.

penurious, stingy, or miserly: a person who is mean about money. Synonyms: niggardly, close, tight, parsimonious, illiberal, ungenerous, selfish.

inferior in grade, quality, or character: no mean reward.

low in status, rank, or dignity: mean servitors. Synonyms: common, humble; undignified, plebeian.

of little importance or consequence: mean little details. Synonyms: inconsequential, insignificant, petty, paltry, little, poor, wretched.

unimposing or shabby: a mean abode. Synonyms: squalid, poor.

small, humiliated, or ashamed: You should feel mean for being so stingy.

Informal. in poor physical condition.

10.

troublesome or vicious; bad-tempered: a mean old horse.

11.

Slang. skillful or impressive: He blows a mean trumpet.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English mene, aphetic variant (see y-) of imene, Old English gemǣne; cognate with Dutch gemeen, German gemein common, Gothic gamains in common; cf. common

Synonyms
2. Mean, low, base, sordid and vile all refer to ignoble characteristics worthy of dislike, contempt, or disgust. Mean suggests pettiness and small-mindedness: to take a mean advantage. Low suggests coarseness and vulgarity: low company. Base suggests selfish cowardice or moral depravity: base motives. Sordid suggests a wretched uncleanness, or sometimes an avariciousness without dignity or moral scruples: a sordid slum; sordid gain. Vile suggests disgusting foulness or repulsiveness: vile insinuation; a vile creature. 3. See stingy¹.

noun

Usually, means. ( used with a singular or plural verb ) an agency, instrument, or method used to attain an end: The telephone is a means of communication. There are several means of solving the problem.

means.

available resources, especially money: They lived beyond their means.

considerable financial resources; riches: a man of means.

something that is midway between two extremes; something intermediate: to seek a mean between cynicism and blind faith.

Mathematics.

a quantity having a value intermediate between the values of other quantities; an average, especially the arithmetic mean.

either the second or third term in a proportion of four terms.

Statistics. expected value. See mathematical expectation ( def 2 ).

Logic. the middle term in a syllogism.

adjective

occupying a middle position or an intermediate place, as in kind, quality, degree, or time: a mean speed; a mean course; the mean annual rainfall.

Idioms

by all means,

(in emphasis) certainly: Go, by all means.

at any cost; without fail.

by any means, in any way; at all: We were not surprised at the news by any means.

10.

by means of, with the help of; by the agency of; through: We crossed the stream by means of a log.

11.

by no means, in no way; not at all: The prize is by no means certain.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English mene < Middle French meen, variant of meien < Latin mediānus; see median

Can be confused: mean, median.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To mean

Collins

World English Dictionary

mean¹ (miːn)

—vb (often foll by for) , means, meaning, meant
1.	(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to intend to convey or express
2.	(may take a clause as object or an infinitive) intend: she didn't mean to hurt it
3.	(may take a clause as object) to say or do in all seriousness: the boss means what he says about strikes
4.	to destine or design (for a certain person or purpose): she was meant for greater things
5.	(may take a clause as object) to denote or connote; signify; represent: examples help show exactly what a word means
6.	(may take a clause as object) to produce; cause: the weather will mean long traffic delays
7.	(may take a clause as object) to foretell; portend: those dark clouds mean rain
8.	to have the importance of: money means nothing to him
9.	(intr) to have the intention of behaving or acting (esp in the phrases mean wellormean ill)
10.	mean business to be in earnest

usage In standard English, mean should not be followed by for when expressing intention: I didn't mean this to happen (not I didn't mean for this to happen)

mean² (miːn)

—*adj*
1.	chiefly (Brit) miserly, ungenerous, or petty
2.	humble, obscure, or lowly: he rose from mean origins to high office
3.	despicable, ignoble, or callous: a mean action
4.	poor or shabby: mean clothing; a mean abode
5.	informal chiefly (US), (Canadian) bad-tempered; vicious
6.	informal ashamed: he felt mean about not letting the children go to the zoo
7.	informal chiefly (US) unwell; in low spirits
8.	slang excellent; skilful: he plays a mean trombone
9.	no mean
	a. of high quality: no mean performer
	b. difficult: no mean feat

[C12: from Old English gemǣne common; related to Old High German gimeini, Latin communis common, at first with no pejorative sense]

'meanly²

—*adv*

'meanness²

—n

mean³ (miːn)

—n
1.	the middle point, state, or course between limits or extremes
2.	moderation
3.	maths
	a. the second and third terms of a proportion, as b and c in a/b = c/d
	b. another name for average See also geometric mean
4.	statistics a statistic obtained by multiplying each possible value of a variable by its probability and then taking the sum or integral over the range of the variable

—*adj*
5.	intermediate or medium in size, quantity, etc
6.	occurring halfway between extremes or limits; average

[C14: via Anglo-Norman from Old French moien, from Late Latin mediānusmedian]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

mean

O.E. mænan "to mean, tell, say, complain," from W.Gmc. *mainijanan (cf. O.Fris. mena, Du. menen, Ger. meinen to think, suppose, be of the opinion"), from PIE *meino- "opinion, intent" (cf. O.C.S. meniti "to think, have an opinion," O.Ir. mian "wish, desire," Welsh mwyn "enjoyment"), probably from

base *men- "think."

mean

"low-quality," O.E. gemæne "common, public, general, universal, shared by all," from P.Gmc. *ga-mainiz "possessed jointly" (cf. O.Fris. mene, M.L.G. gemeine, Du. gemeen, Ger. gemein, Goth. gamains "common"), from PIE *ko-moin-i- "held in common," a compound adjective formed from collective prefix

*ko- "together" (P.Gmc. *ga-) + *moi-n-, suffixed form of PIE base *mei- "to change, exchange" (see mutable); cf. second element in common, a word whose sense evolution parallels that of mean (adj.). Sense influenced by mean (n.). Meaning "inferior, poor" emerged c.1300; that of "stingy, nasty" first recorded 1660s; weaker sense of "disobliging, pettily offensive" is from 1839, originally Amer.Eng. slang. Inverted sense of "remarkably good" (i.e. plays a mean saxophone) first recorded c.1900, also in phrase no mean _______ "not inferior" (1590s, also, "not average," reflecting further confusion with mean (n.)).

mean

"that which is halfway between extremes," early 14c., from O.Fr. meien, from L. medianus "of or that is in the middle" (see median). Oldest sense is musical. Sense of "so-so, mediocre" led to confusion with mean (adj.). This is the mean in meantime, meanwhile, and by no means (late 15c.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

mean (mēn)
n.

Something having a position, quality, or condition midway between extremes; a medium.
A number that typifies a set of numbers, such as a geometric mean or an arithmetic mean.
The average value of a set of numbers.

adj.

Occupying a middle or intermediate position between two extremes.
Intermediate in size, extent, quality, time, or degree; medium.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage

Science Dictionary

mean

(mēn) Pronunciation Key

A number or quantity having a value that is intermediate between other numbers or quantities, especially an arithmetic mean or average. See more at arithmetic mean.
Either the second or third term of a proportion of four terms. In the proportion ²/₃ = ⁴/₆ , the means are 3 and 4. Compare extreme.

American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

mean definition

An average in statistics. (See under “Physical Sciences and Mathematics.”)

mean definition

In statistics, an average of a group of numbers or data points. With a group of numbers, the mean is obtained by adding them and dividing by the number of numbers in the group. Thus the mean of five, seven, and twelve is eight (twenty-four divided by three). (Compare median and mode.)

Slang Dictionary

mean definition

mod.
having to do with someone or something that is very good; cool. : This music is mean, man, mean. What a great sound!

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

mean

In addition to the idioms beginning with mean, also see under means.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

mean

in mathematics, a quantity that has a value intermediate between those of the extreme members of some set. Several kinds of mean exist, and the method of calculating a mean depends upon the relationship known or assumed to govern the other members. The arithmetic mean, denoted x, of a set of n numbers x1, x2, , xn is defined as the sum of the numbers divided by n:

Learn more about mean with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

The more piracy, the less money in the system; less money means less content.

And even if a connection to brain structure is found, that does not mean it is

innate.

Become a smart consumer and learn what natural and organic labels mean.

Which would probably mean the end of their organic certification.

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harmonic mean ignorant mean deviation mean solar time mean value theorem meanness

Slang

a mean sth I don't mean maybe!

lean and mean mean business

Idioms & Phrases

mean

means

Matching Quote

"The sky is low, the clouds are mean,"

-Emily Dickinson