part of speech: verb
inflections: means, meaning, meant
definition 1: to have as a goal or purpose; intend.
- I mean to leave soon.
synonyms: intend
definition 2: to intend to express.
- What do you mean?
definition 3: to have a particular sense.
- The word “tomorrow” means “the day after today.”
definition 4: to cause as a result.
- The teacher’s arrival means recess is over.
definition 5: to have intentions or have in mind.
- Carl means well, even though his actions don’t show it.
definition 6: to have a certain degree of importance.
- She means a great deal to her friends.
part of speech: adjective
inflections: meaner, meanest
definition 1: not nice; nasty or cruel.
- The mean wizard turned the children into toads.
synonyms: malicious, nasty
antonyms: kind, nice
definition 2: low in quality or poor in appearance.
- The peasants lived in mean cottages far from the castle.
synonyms: base, inferior, poor, shabby
antonyms: grand
part of speech: noun
definition 1: something halfway between two extremes.
- Can’t we find a mean between getting rid of the TV and watching TV five hours a day?
synonyms: medium
definition 2: the value that is found by dividing the sum of a set of numbers by the number of items added; average.
- The mean of 3, 4, and 8 is 5.
synonyms: average
part of speech: adjective
definition: being between extremes or in the middle.
- At five feet tall, Jane is above the mean height for girls in fifth grade.
synonyms: intermediate, medium, middle
