Meaning of mean in English

mean

verb

/miːn/ uk

/miːn/

meant | meant

mean verb (EXPRESS)

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A2 [ T ]

to express or represent something such as an idea, thought, or fact:

What does this word mean?

[ + that ] These figures mean that almost six percent of the working population is unemployed.

mean by What do you mean by that remark?

She's kind of strange though. Do you know what I mean?

"They all showed up." "You mean the entire family?"

[ T ]

used to add emphasis to what you are saying:

and I mean I want you home by midnight. And I mean midnight.

mean it Give it back now! I mean it.

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When he said three o'clock, I thought he meant in the afternoon.
Charges are made on a sliding scale, which means that the amount you must pay increases with the level of your income.
If you don't know what the word means, look it up in a dictionary.
You should take it as a compliment when I fall asleep in your company - it means I'm relaxed.
A continuous white line in the middle of the road means no overtaking.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Meaning & significance

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mean verb (HAVE RESULT)

B1 [ T ]

to have a particular result:

Lower costs mean lower prices.

[ + that ] Advances in electronics mean that the technology is already available.

[ + -ing verb ] If we want to catch the 7:30 train, that will mean leaving the house at 6:00.

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High acidity levels in the water mean that the fish are not so large.
Shortages mean that even staples like bread are difficult to find.
In a way I'd prefer it if they didn't come, because it would mean extra work.
Let's say that the trip takes three hours, that means you'll arrive at two o'clock.
The irregularity of English spelling means that it is easy to make mistakes.

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Meaning & significance

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mean verb (INTEND)

B1 [ I or T ]

to intend:

mean any harm I'm sorry if I offended you - I didn't mean any harm.

be meant for The books with large print are meant for partially sighted readers.

[ + to infinitive ] I've been meaning to call you all week.

mean to Do you think she meant to say 9 a.m. instead of 9 p.m.?

mean for someone to do something They didn't mean for her to read the letter.

be meant to do sth

to be intended to:

These batteries are meant to last for a year.

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I didn't mean to be rude - it just came out like that.
He doesn't really mean it - he's just being contrary.
He's always making flattering remarks, but he doesn't really mean them.
I didn't mean to upset her - it was just a bit of fun.
He didn't mean it - he said it in the heat of the moment.

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Planning, expecting and arranging

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mean verb (HAVE IMPORTANCE)

B1 [ T ]

to have an important emotional effect on someone:

mean a lot, nothing, something, etc. to It wasn't a valuable picture but it meant a lot to me.

mean nothing to Possessions mean nothing to him.

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Her children mean all the world to her.
Gerald means nothing to me now.
Her career means everything to her.
Nothing means more to me than my children's happiness.
Her approval meant a lot to me.

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Meaning & significance

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Grammar

Mean

We use mean to explain or ask what a word or phrase refers to. We form questions with mean with the auxiliary verb do: …

I mean

We use I mean very commonly in speaking as a discourse marker. We use it when we want to add to what we have just said, to make a point clearer or to correct what we have just said: …

You know what I mean

We often use the phrase you know what I mean (or if you know what I mean or do you know what I mean?) in speaking, to check that our listener understands what we are saying or to show that we assume the listener has the same opinion about something: …

Nouns

Nouns are one of the four major word classes, along with verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Nouns are the largest word class. …

Be meant to

Be meant to is used to talk about what is desirable, expected or intended: …

Idioms

be meant for each other
I mean
mean business
mean well
(do you) see what I mean?
what do you mean?

mean

adjective

/miːn/ uk

/miːn/

mean adjective (NOT KIND)

unkind or unpleasant:

mean to Stop being so mean to me!

She just said it to be mean.

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

not kind to someone or something and causing pain

cruelTeasing them for being overweight is cruel.
callousHe had a callous disregard for the feelings of others.
cold-bloodedThe budget is based on a cold-blooded analysis of the markets.
ruthlessHe was a ruthless dictator.
heartlessHe has been described as a heartless boss by several employees.

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More examplesFewer examples

He's as mean as they come.
You shouldn't have been so mean to your mother - she deserves better.
And she didn't invite him? That was a bit mean!
Stop being so mean to your brother!
It was mean of him to make her stay late.

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Unkind, cruel & unfeeling

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mean adjective (VIOLENT)

mainly US

frightening and likely to become violent:

a mean and angry mob

a mean-looking youth

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Violent or aggressive

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mean adjective (GOOD)

[ before noun ] informal

very good:

She's a mean piano player.

She plays a mean piano (= she plays very well).

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Informal words for good

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mean adjective (BAD QUALITY)

[ before noun ] informal

poor, dirty, and of bad quality:

He was born in the mean streets of Detroit in 1945.

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Not of good quality

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mean adjective (NOT GENEROUS)

B2 mainly UK

not willing to give or share things, especially money:

He's too mean to buy her a ring.

mean with My landlord's very mean with the heat ing- it's only on for two hours each day.

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She's really quite unpleasant about other people and she's as mean as hell.
He's a mean old scrooge!
"That was amazingly generous of you!" "Well, that was a two-edged comment - are you saying I'm usually mean?"
He's too mean to buy any new clothes.
She only gave you 50p? That was a bit mean.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Mean with money

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mean adjective (MATHEMATICS)

C2 [ before noun ] mathematics specialized

a mean number is an average number:

a mean value

Their mean weight was 76.4 pounds.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Statistics

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Averages

Idioms

no mean something

no mean achievement/feat

mean

noun [ S ]

/miːn/ uk

/miːn/

mean noun [S] (MATHEMATICS)

mathematics specialized

(also the arithmetic mean)

the result you get by adding two or more amounts together and dividing the total by the number of amounts:

the mean of The mean of 5, 4, 10, and 15 is 8.5.

Compare

average noun (AMOUNT)

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Statistics

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Averages

mean noun [S] (METHOD)

formal

a quality or way of doing something that is in the middle of two completely different qualities or ways of doing something:

a mean between We need to find a mean between test questions that are too difficult and those that are too easy.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Ways of achieving things

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Averages

(Definition of mean from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

mean | Intermediate English

mean

verb

/min/

past tense and past participle meant us/ment/

mean verb (EXPRESS)

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[ T ]

to represent or express something intended, or to refer to someone or something:

"What does ’rough’ mean?" "It means ’not smooth.’"

[ + that clause ] These figures mean that almost 7% of the population is unemployed.

"Do you see that girl over there?" "Do you mean the one with short blond hair?"

mean verb (HAVE RESULT)

[ T ]

to have as a result:

Lower costs mean higher profits.

[ + (that) clause ] If she doesn’t answer the phone, it means (that) she’s out in the garden.

mean verb (HAVE IMPORTANCE)

[ T ]

to have the importance or value of:

My grandmother’s ring wasn’t valuable, but it meant a lot to me.

mean verb (INTEND)

[ I/T ]

to say or do something intentionally; intend:

[ T ] I think she meant 8 o’clock, although she said 7 o’clock.

[ I ] I’ve been meaning to call you but I’ve been so busy I never got around to it.

[ I/T ]

Mean can also be used to add emphasis to what you are saying:

[ T ] She means what she says.

Idioms

mean business

mean well

mean

noun [ C ]

us/min/

mean noun [C] (AVERAGE)

mathematics

a number that is the result of adding a group of numbers together and then dividing the result by how many numbers were in the group

mean

adjective [ -er/-est only ]

/min/

mean adjective [-er/-est only] (NOT KIND)

unkind or not caring:

I felt a little mean when I said I couldn’t visit her in the hospital until Saturday.

mean adjective [-er/-est only] (GOOD)

slang

very good:

She plays a mean bass fiddle.

(Definition of mean from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

mean | Business English

mean

noun [ S ]

/miːn/ us

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MEASURES

(also arithmetic mean)

the result you get by adding two or more amounts together and dividing the total by the number of amounts:

The mean of 5, 4, 10, and 15 is 8.5.

a quality or way of doing something that is in the middle of two completely different qualities or ways of doing something:

a mean between sth and sth This description doesn't give enough information, and this one is too long – we need to find a mean between the two.

mean

verb [ T ]

/miːn/ us

present participle meant | past tense and past participle meant

to express or represent something such as an idea, thought, or fact:

What does this word mean?

mean sth by sth What do you mean by 'rightsizing the department'?

to have a particular result:

Lower costs mean lower prices.

mean (that) Advances in electronics mean that the technology is already available.

mean doing sth If we increased our workforce, that would mean finding larger premises.

mean

adjective

/miːn/ us

MEASURES

a mean number is the result you get by adding two or more amounts together and dividing the total by the number of amounts:

The mean weight of the crates is 76.4 kilos.

The table above shows the mean price per dozen of large grade A eggs.

unkind:

be mean to sb If she's ever mean to staff, she always apologizes afterwards.

not generous:

be mean with sth My boss is well known for being mean with money.

(Definition of mean from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of mean

mean

That means it's 8 times more powerful than the prior model.

From TechCrunch

It was me who said that swiping should mean something.

From WIRED

This means a new array of risks and opportunities.

From Wired

And that means he can't call me to come get him because he can't use his phone.

From Huffington Post

The rich were meant to have the most leisure time.

From The Atlantic

I mean they can get to that what this life.

From ABC News

She wanted us to succeed because that would mean she succeeded.

From Washington Post

There was no need to spell out what "1968" meant.

From The Atlantic

It does not mean "some" or "select" students, it means all students.

From The Seattle Times

You need to be in a good mental space, and for me, that means working out.

From Fast Company

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with mean

mean

These are words often used in combination with mean.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

adequate means

Consequently, the patient's current ability to cope depends, in part, on whether he achieved adequate means for adaptation when he experienced stress as a child.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

alternate means

The ethics consultant stressed to the attending physician that fluids need not be administered as long as the baby is kept comfortable by alternate means.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

alternative means

Disarmament without providing soldiers with training, as well as help in finding alternative means of livelihood, leads to instability and internal crises.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all collocations with mean

What is the pronunciation of mean?

What is the pronunciation of meant?