mean 1 (m n)v. meant (m  nt), mean·ing, means v.tr. 1. a. To be used to convey; denote: "'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things'" (Lewis Carroll). b. To act as a symbol of; signify or represent: In this poem, the budding flower means youth. 2. 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). 3. To have as a purpose or an intention; intend: I meant to go running this morning, but I overslept. 4. 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. 5. To have as a consequence; bring about: Friction means heat. 6. To have the importance or value of: The opinions of the critics meant nothing to him. She meant so much to me. v.intr. Idiom: To have intentions of a specified kind; be disposed: They mean well but lack tact. mean business Informal To be in earnest. [Middle English menen, from Old English m  nan, to tell of; see mei-no- in Indo-European roots.] |
| mean 2 (mn) adj. mean·er, mean·est 1. a. Selfish in a petty way; unkind. b. Cruel, spiteful, or malicious. 2. Ignoble; base: a mean motive. 3. Miserly; stingy. 4. a. Low in quality or grade; inferior. b. Low in value or amount; paltry: paid no mean amount for the new shoes. 5. Common or poor in appearance; shabby: "The rowhouses had been darkened by the rain and looked meaner and grimmer than ever" (Anne Tyler). 6. Low in social status; of humble origins. 7. Humiliated or ashamed. 8. In poor physical condition; sick or debilitated. 9. Extremely unpleasant or disagreeable: The meanest storm in years. 10. Informal Ill-tempered. 11. Slang a. Hard to cope with; difficult or troublesome: He throws a mean fast ball. b. Excellent; skillful: She plays a mean game of bridge. [Middle English, from Old English gem ne, common; see mei-1 in Indo-European roots.]Synonyms: mean2, low1, base2, 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). |
| mean 3 (mn) n. 1. Something having a position, quality, or condition midway between extremes; a medium. 2. Mathematics a. A number that typifies a set of numbers, such as a geometric mean or an arithmetic mean. b. The average value of a set of numbers. 3. Logic The middle term in a syllogism. 4. means (used with a sing. or pl. verb) A method, a course of action, or an instrument by which an act can be accomplished or an end achieved. 5. means (used with a pl. verb) a. Money, property, or other wealth: You ought to live within your means. b. Great wealth: a woman of means. adj. Idioms: 1. Occupying a middle or intermediate position between two extremes. 2. Intermediate in size, extent, quality, time, or degree; medium. by all means Without fail; certainly. by any means In any way possible; to any extent: not by any means an easy opponent. by means of With the use of; owing to: They succeeded by means of patience and sacrifice. by no means In no sense; certainly not: This remark by no means should be taken lightly. [Middle English mene, middle, from Old French meien, from Latin medi  nus, from medius; see medhyo- in Indo-European roots.]Usage Note: In the sense of "financial resources" means takes a plural verb: His means are more than adequate. In the sense of "a way to an end," means may be treated as either a singular or plural. It is singular when referring to a particular strategy or method: The best means of securing the cooperation of the builders is to appeal to their self-interest. It is plural when it refers to a group of strategies or methods: The most effective means for dealing with the drug problem have generally been those suggested by the affected communities. · Means is most often followed by of: a means of noise reduction. But for, to, and toward are also used: a means for transmitting sound; a means to an end; a means toward achieving equality. |
means
Noun
the medium, method, or instrument used to obtain a result or achieve an end: a means of transport
Noun, pl
1. income: a man of means
2. by all means without hesitation or doubt; certainly
3. by means of with the use or help of
4. by no or not by any means on no account; in no way
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | means - how a result is obtained or an end is achieved; "a means of control"; "an example is the best agency of instruction"; "the true way to success" effectuation, implementation - the act of implementing (providing a practical means for accomplishing something); carrying into effect dint - interchangeable with `means' in the expression `by means of' escape - a means or way of escaping; "hard work was his escape from worry"; "they installed a second hatch as an escape"; "their escape route" fast track - a rapid means of achieving a goal; "they saw independence as the fast track to democracy"; "he took a fast track to the top of the corporate ladder"; "the company went off the fast track when the stock market dropped" instrument, tool - the means whereby some act is accomplished; "my greed was the instrument of my destruction"; "science has given us new tools to fight disease" road - a way or means to achieve something; "the road to fame" stepping stone - any means of advancement; "the job was just a stepping stone on his way to fame and riches" expedient - a means to an end; not necessarily a principled or ethical one desperate measure - desperate actions taken as a means to an end; "he had to resort to desperate measures" open sesame - any very successful means of achieving a result salvation - a means of preserving from harm or unpleasantness; "tourism was their economic salvation"; "they turned to individualism as their salvation" tooth - a means of enforcement; "the treaty had no teeth in it" voice - a means or agency by which something is expressed or communicated; "the voice of the law"; "the Times is not the voice of New York"; "conservatism has many voices" wings - a means of flight or ascent; "necessity lends wings to inspiration" |
| 2. | means - an instrumentality for accomplishing some end instrumentation, instrumentality - an artifact (or system of artifacts) that is instrumental in accomplishing some end | |
| 3. | means - considerable capital (wealth or income); "he is a man of means" capital - wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value pocketbook - your personal financial means; "that car is too expensive for my pocketbook" wherewithal - the necessary means (especially financial means) |
means
plural noun 1. method, way, course, process, medium, measure, agency, channel, instrument, avenue, mode, expedient
plural noun 2. money, funds, capital, property, riches, income, resources, estate, fortune, wealth, substance, affluence, wherewithal by all means certainly, surely, of course, definitely, absolutely, positively, doubtlessly >> by means of by way of, using, through, via, utilizing, with the aid of, by dint of by no means in no way, no way, not at all, definitely not, not in the least, on no account, not in the slightest, not the least bit, absolutely not
Translations
means [miːnz] npl → medio sg; manera sg (= resource); recursos mpl; medios mpl;
by all means! → ¡naturalmente!, ¡claro que sí!
n sg or pl means [miːnz]
the instrument(s), method(s) etc by which a thing is, or may be, done or made to happen By what means can we find out? metode وَسيلَه начин prostředky, způsob, možnost middel; måde die Mittel(pl.) μέσο medio, manera vahend(id) وسیله keino moyen(s) אֶמצָעִים साधन sredstva, načini eszköz(ök) sarana leið, aðferð, ráð mezzo 手段 방법, 수단 būdas, priemonė līdzeklis; veids cara middelen middel, måte sposób, środek meios mijloc средство, способ prostriedky; možnosť način sredstvo medel วิธี araç, yol, yöntem 手段 засіб; спосіб وسائل phương tiện 手段
by all means
yes, of course If you want to use the telephone, by all means do. natuurlik بِالتَّأكيد да. разбира се samozřejmě selvfølgelig auf jeden Fall φυσικά, ελεύθερα naturalmente, por supuesto muidugi, minugipärast حتما kaikin mokomin certainement בְּהֶחלֵט अवश्य, निश्चय ही svim sredstvima feltétlenül tentu saja fyrir alla muni certamente, senz'altro ぜひ 그럼요, 물론 prašom, žinoma katrā ziņā, noteikti silakan natuurlijk gjerne, naturligvis oczywiście, ze wszech miar sem dúvida bineînţeles конечно, пожалуйста samozrejme na vsak način svakako så gärna, för all del แน่นอน elbette, şüphesiz 當然可以 будь-яким способом; за всяку ціну بالکل، بلا شک tất nhiên là vậy 当然可以
by means of
using We escaped by means of a secret tunnel. deur middel van بواسِطَة، عَن طَريق използвайки prostřednictvím, pomocí ved hjælp af mittels μέσω por medio de, mediante abil, kaudu توسط avulla, kautta au moyen de בְּאֶמצָעוּת के माध्यम से uz pomoć vmi által, segítségével menggunakan með því að nota per mezzo di ～によって ...을 써서, ...으로 pasinaudojant lietojot; izmantojot dengan menggunakan door middel van ved hjelp av przy użyciu, przez por meio de cu ajutorul, folosindu-se de посредством prostredníctvom s pomočjo pomoću medelst, med hjälp av, genom ใช้ ... ile, vasıtasıyla 依靠, 使用 за допомогою کسی شے کے ذریعے bằng cách 依靠
by no means
1 definitely not Can I go home now?' `By no means! glad nie إطْلاقا، أبدا със сигурност не v žádném případě på ingen måde; under ingen omstændigheder auf keinen Fall αποκλείεται de ninguna manera mitte mingil juhul به هیچ وجه ei missään tapauksessa certainement pas בִּכלַל לֹא एक दम नहीं nikako semmi esetre sem tidak boleh alls ekki (no di certo) いけない 절대 안 되다 žinoma, ne nekādā ziņā tidak boleh in geen geval på ingen måte, under ingen omstendigheter w żadnym wypadku/razie certamente que não deloc ни в коем случае v žiadnom prípade nikakor nikako ingalunda, på intet sätt ไม่อย่างแน่นอน kesinlikle olmaz, hayır 決不 ні в якому разі بالکل نہیں tuyệt nhiên không 决不
2 (alsonot by any means) not at all I'm by no means certain to win. glad nie أبدا، بالمَرَّه изобщо vůbec ne på ingen måde auf keinen Fall,keineswegs καθόλου de ningún modo (mitte) sugugi در هرحال lainkaan nullement בִּכלַל לֹא एक दम नहीं ni u kom slučaju egyáltalán nem sama sekali tidak alls ekki (per nulla) 決して～でない 결코 ... 아니다 jokiu būdu, visiškai ne nepavisam tidak sama sekali helemaal niet ikke i det hele tatt bynajmniej de modo nenhum în nici un caz совсем не vôbec nie na noben način nikako ingalunda ไม่ด้วยประการใดเลย asla, hiçbir zaman 並沒有, 絕不 аж ніяк قطعی نہیں không chút nào 并没有
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