v., meant (mĕnt), mean·ing, means. v.tr.
- To be used to convey; denote: "'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things'" (Lewis Carroll).
- To act as a symbol of; signify or represent: In this poem, the budding flower means youth.
- To intend to convey or indicate: "No one means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous" (Henry Adams).
- To have as a purpose or an intention; intend: I meant to go running this morning, but I overslept.
- To design, intend, or destine for a certain purpose or end: a building that was meant for storage; a student who was meant to be a scientist.
- To have as a consequence; bring about: Friction means heat.
- To have the importance or value of: The opinions of the critics meant nothing to him. She meant so much to me.
To have intentions of a specified kind; be disposed: They mean well but lack tact.
idiom:
mean business Informal.
- To be in earnest.
[Middle English menen, from Old English mǣnan, to tell of.]
mean2 (mēn)
adj., mean·er, mean·est.
- Selfish in a petty way; unkind.
- Cruel, spiteful, or malicious.
- Ignoble; base: a mean motive.
- Miserly; stingy.
- Low in quality or grade; inferior.
- Low in value or amount; paltry: paid no mean amount for the new shoes.
- Common or poor in appearance; shabby: "The rowhouses had been darkened by the rain and looked meaner and grimmer than ever" (Anne Tyler).
- Low in social status; of humble origins.
- Humiliated or ashamed.
- In poor physical condition; sick or debilitated.
- Extremely unpleasant or disagreeable: The meanest storm in years.
- Informal. Ill-tempered.
- Slang.
- Hard to cope with; difficult or troublesome: He throws a mean fast ball.
- Excellent; skillful: She plays a mean game of bridge.
[Middle English, from Old English gemǣne, common.]
SYNONYMS mean, low, base, abject, ignoble, sordid. These adjectives mean lacking in dignity or falling short of the standards befitting humans. Mean suggests pettiness, spite, or niggardliness: "Never ascribe to an opponent motives meaner than your own" (J.M. Barrie). Something low violates standards of morality, ethics, or propriety: low cunning; a low trick. Base suggests a contemptible, mean-spirited, or selfish lack of human decency: "that liberal obedience, without which your army would be a base rabble" (Edmund Burke). Abject means brought low in condition: abject submission; abject poverty. Ignoble means lacking noble qualities, such as elevated moral character: "For my part I think it a less evil that some criminals should escape than that the government should play an ignoble part" (Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.). Sordid suggests foul, repulsive degradation: "It is through art . . . that we can shield ourselves from the sordid perils of actual existence" (Oscar Wilde).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
