meant
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
meant
(mĕnt)v.
Past tense and past participle of mean1.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
meant
(mɛnt)vb
the past tense and past participle of mean1
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
mean1
(min)v. meant, mean•ing. v.t.
1. to have in mind as one's purpose or intention; intend.
2. to intend for a particular destiny: They were meant for each other.
3. to intend to express or indicate: What do you mean by “perfect” ?
4. to have as its sense or signification; signify.
5. to bring, cause, or produce as a result: Prosperity means peace.
6. to have the value of: Money means everything to them.
v.i. 7. to have specified intentions: We meant well.
[before 900; Middle English menen, Old English mǣnan, c. Old Frisian mēna, Old Saxon mēnian, Old High German meinen]
mean2
(min)adj. -er, -est.
1. uncharitable; malicious: a mean remark.
2. small-minded; ignoble: mean motives.
3. stingy; miserly.
4. inferior in quality or character.
5. low in status: mean servitors.
6. bad-tempered: a mean horse.
7. excellent; topnotch: plays a mean game of tennis.
[before 900; variant of imene, Old English gemǣne common, inferior, c. Old Frisian mēne, Old High German gimeini, Gothic gamains; compare common]
mean′ness, n.
mean3
(min)n.
1. Usu., means. (used with a sing. or pl. v.) an agency, instrument, or method used to attain an end.
2. means,
a. available resources, esp. money.
b. considerable financial resources: a person of means.
3. something midway between two extremes.
4.
a. a quantity having a value intermediate between the values of other quantities; an average, esp. the arithmetic mean.
b. either the second or third term in a proportion of four terms.
5. the middle term in a syllogism.
adj. 6. occupying a middle position or intermediate place.
Idioms: 1. by all means, certainly.
2. by any means, in any way; at all.
3. by means of, by the agency of; through.
4. by no means, not at all.
[1300–50; Middle English mene < Anglo-French, Old French meen, variant of meien < Latin mediānus; see median]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
meant
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
meant
[ˈmɛnt] pt
pp of mean
adj
(= intended) to be meant for → être destiné(e) à
a film meant for adults → un film destiné aux adultes
The tales were never meant for publication → Ces contes n'ont jamais été destinés à la publication.
a film meant for adults → un film destiné aux adultes
The tales were never meant for publication → Ces contes n'ont jamais été destinés à la publication.
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005