| / English Dictionary |
MEAN
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected form: meant
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An average of n numbers computed by adding some function of the numbers and dividing by some function of n
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("mean" is a kind of...):
average; norm (a statistic describing the location of a distribution)
Domain category:
statistics (a branch of applied mathematics concerned with the collection and interpretation of quantitative data and the use of probability theory to estimate population parameters)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mean"):
arithmetic mean; expectation; expected value; first moment (the sum of the values of a random variable divided by the number of values)
geometric mean (the mean of n numbers expressed as the n-th root of their product)
harmonic mean (the mean of n numbers expressed as the reciprocal of the arithmetic mean of the reciprocals of the numbers)
Derivation:
mean (approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Of no value or worth
Example:
I was caught in the bastardly traffic
Synonyms:
bastardly; mean
Classified under:
Similar:
contemptible (deserving of contempt or scorn)
Sense 2
Meaning:
(used of sums of money) so small in amount as to deserve contempt
Synonyms:
beggarly; mean
Classified under:
Similar:
stingy; ungenerous (unwilling to spend (money, time, resources, etc.))
Derivation:
meanness (extreme stinginess)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(used of persons or behavior) characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity
Example:
he left a miserly tip
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
stingy; ungenerous (unwilling to spend (money, time, resources, etc.))
Derivation:
meanness (extreme stinginess)
meanness (the quality of being deliberately mean)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Characterized by malice
Example:
in a mean mood
Synonyms:
hateful; mean
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
awful; nasty (offensive or even (of persons) malicious)
Derivation:
meanness (the quality of being deliberately mean)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality
Example:
something essentially vulgar and meanspirited in politics
Synonyms:
base; mean; meanspirited
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
ignoble (completely lacking nobility in character or quality or purpose)
Derivation:
meanness (the quality of being deliberately mean)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value
Example:
the mean annual rainfall
Synonyms:
average; mean
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
normal (conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal)
Domain category:
statistics (a branch of applied mathematics concerned with the collection and interpretation of quantitative data and the use of probability theory to estimate population parameters)
Derivation:
mean (an average of n numbers computed by adding some function of the numbers and dividing by some function of n)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Marked by poverty befitting a beggar
Example:
a mean hut
Synonyms:
beggarly; mean
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
poor (characterized by or indicating poverty)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Excellent
Example:
famous for a mean backhand
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
skilled (having or showing or requiring special skill)
Domain usage:
argot; cant; jargon; lingo; patois; slang; vernacular (a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves))
III. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they mean ... he / she / it means
Past simple: meant
Past participle: meant
-ing form: meaning
Sense 1
Meaning:
Have in mind as a purpose
Example:
We thought to return early that night
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "mean"):
design (intend or have as a purpose)
be after; plan (have the will and intention to carry out some action)
aim; propose; purport; purpose (propose or intend)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE
Sentence example:
They mean to move
Sense 2
Meaning:
Destine or designate for a certain purpose
Example:
These flowers were meant for you
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Hypernyms (to "mean" is one way to...):
designate; destine; intend; specify (design or destine)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something PP
Sense 3
Meaning:
Intend to refer to
Example:
Yes, I meant you when I complained about people who gossip!
Synonyms:
have in mind; mean; think of
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Hypernyms (to "mean" is one way to...):
associate; colligate; connect; link; link up; relate; tie in (make a logical or causal connection)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "mean"):
advert; bring up; cite; mention; name; refer (make reference to)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Sense 4
Meaning:
Denote or connote
Example:
An example sentence would show what this word means
Synonyms:
intend; mean; signify; stand for
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Verb group:
signify (convey or express a meaning)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "mean"):
denote; refer (have as a meaning)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Derivation:
meaning (the idea that is intended)
meaning (the message that is intended or expressed or signified)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Mean or intend to express or convey
Example:
what do his words intend?
Synonyms:
intend; mean
Classified under:
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing
Hypernyms (to "mean" is one way to...):
convey ((of information) make known; pass on)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "mean"):
represent; stand for; symbolise; symbolize; typify (express indirectly by an image, form, or model; be a symbol)
signify (convey or express a meaning)
import; spell (indicate or signify)
aim (direct (a remark) toward an intended goal)
aim; drive; get (move into a desired direction of discourse)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
meaning (the idea that is intended)
meaning (the message that is intended or expressed or signified)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Have as a logical consequence
Example:
The water shortage means that we have to stop taking long showers
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "mean" is one way to...):
necessitate (cause to be a concomitant)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Sense 7
Meaning:
Have a specified degree of importance
Example:
Happiness means everything
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Context examples:
What could the little woman possibly mean by calling her a sorceress, and saying she had killed the Wicked Witch of the East?
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
Proxima B is believed roughly Earth-sized and in its solar system's habitable zone, meaning it would have similar gravity to Earth and at least the possibility of liquid water.
(Simulations show planet orbiting Proxima Centauri could have liquid water, Wikinews)
Nature meant me to be, on the whole, a good man, Miss Eyre; one of the better kind, and you see I am not so.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
This means that there is a better chance for treatment.
(Baby Health Checkup, NIH)
"It's nobody in particular," she explained, laughing at the expression of my face: "only an ideal. I've never met the kind of man I mean."
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The mean value of the amount of weight gained over a period of time.
(Average Body Weight Gain, NCI Thesaurus)
An electrocardiographic assessment of the mean cardiac electrical vector and ECG voltage.
(Axis and Voltage ECG Assessment, NCI Thesaurus)
Orally bioavailable means that a drug or other substance that is taken by mouth can be absorbed and used by the body.
(Bioavailable, NCI Dictionary)
It may mean that the cancer has come back.
(Biochemical recurrence, NCI Dictionary)
A prefix meaning very small in scale or scope.
(Micro, NCI Thesaurus)
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