Search results for 'mean':

mean¹ verb (meant , meaning) 1 to express or intend to express, show or indicate something. 2 to intend something; to have it as a purpose • didn't mean any harm. 3 to be serious or sincere about something • He means what he says. 4 to be important to the degree specified; to represent something • Your approval means a lot to me • He meant nothing to me. 5 to entail something necessarily; to involve or result in it • War means hardship. 6 to foretell or portend something • Cold cloudless evenings mean overnight frost. be meant for something to be destined to it • She was meant for stardom. mean well to have good intentions.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon mænan.

mean² adj (meaner, meanest) 1 not generous. 2 low; despicable. 3 poor; shabby; characterized by inferior quality. 4 colloq, especially N Amer vicious; malicious; bad-tempered. 5 colloq good; skilful • plays a mean guitar. meanly adverb. meanness noun. no mean something colloq 1 an excellent one • He's no mean singer. 2 not an easy one; a very difficult one • That was no mean feat.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon gemæne low in rank or birth, common.

mean³ adj 1 midway; intermediate. 2 average. noun 1 a midway position or course, etc between two extremes. 2 math, statistics a mathematical average, in particular: a the average value of a set of n numbers, equal to the sum of the numbers divided by n. Also called arithmetic mean; b the average value of a set of n numbers, also taking into account their frequency, by multiplying each number by the number of times it occurs, summing the resulting values and dividing them by n. Also called weighted mean; c the nth root of the product of n quantities or numbers, eg the geometric mean of 2 and 3 is the second (square) root of 6, ie Ã6. Also called geometric mean. Compare median, mode.
ETYMOLOGY: 14c: from French meien, from Latin medius middle.