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Definition mean

Etymology 1

From Middle English menen (“to intend; remember; lament; comfort”), from Old English m?nan (“to mean, signify; lament”), from Proto-Germanic *mainijan? (“to mean, think; lament”), from Proto-Indo-European *meyn- (“to think”). Germanic cognates include West Frisian miene (“to deem, think”) (Old Frisian m?na (“signify”)), Dutch menen (“to believe, think, mean”) (Middle Dutch menen (“think, intend”)), German meinen (“to think, mean, believe”), Old Saxon m?nian. Indo-European cognates include Old Irish mían (“wish, desire”) and Polish mieni? (“signify, believe”). Related to moan.

Verb

mean (third-person singular simple present means, present participle meaning, simple past and past participle meant)

  1. To intend.
    1. (transitive) To intend, to plan (to do); to have as one's intention. [from 8th c.]
    2. (intransitive) To have intentions of a given kind. [from 14th c.]
    3. (transitive, usually in passive) To intend (something) for a given purpose or fate; to predestine. [from 16th c.]
  2. To convey (a meaning).
    1. (transitive) To convey (a given sense); to signify, or indicate (an object or idea). [from 8th c.]
    2. (transitive) Of a word, symbol etc: to have reference to, to signify. [from 8th c.]
    3. (transitive) Of a person (or animal etc): to intend to express, to imply, to hint at, to allude.
  3. (transitive) To have conviction in (something said or expressed); to be sincere in (what one says). [from 18th c.]
  4. (transitive) To result in; to bring about. [from 19th c.]
  5. (transitive) To be important (to). [from 19th c.]
Verb

mean (third-person singular simple present means, present participle meaning, simple past and past participle meaned)

  1. (Ireland, Britain regional) To lament.

Etymology 2

From Middle English mene, imene, from Old English m?ne, ?em?ne (“common, public, general, universal”), from Proto-Germanic *gamainiz (“common”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to change, exchange, share”). Cognate with West Frisian mien (“general, universal”), Dutch gemeen (“common, mean”), German gemein (“common, mean, nasty”), Gothic ??????? (gamains, “common, unclean”), Latin comm?nis (“shared, common, general”) (Old Latin comoinem).

Adjective

mean (comparative meaner, superlative meanest)

  1. (obsolete) Common; general.
  2. Of a common or low origin, grade, or quality; common; humble.
  3. Low in quality or degree; inferior; poor; shabby.
  4. Without dignity of mind; destitute of honour; low-minded; spiritless; base.
  5. Of little value or account; worthy of little or no regard; contemptible; despicable.
  6. (chiefly Britain) Ungenerous; stingy; tight-fisted.
  7. Disobliging; pettily offensive or unaccommodating; small.
  8. Selfish; acting without consideration of others; unkind.
  9. Causing or intending to cause intentional harm; bearing ill will towards another; cruel; malicious.
  10. Powerful; fierce; harsh; damaging.
  11. Accomplished with great skill; deft; hard to compete with.
  12. (informal, often childish) Difficult, tricky.

Etymology 3

From Middle English meene, borrowed from Old French meien (French moyen), Late Latin medi?nus (“that is in the middle, middle”), from Latin medius (“middle”). Cognate with mid. For the musical sense, compare the cognate Italian mezzano. Doublet of median and mizzen.

Adjective

mean (not comparable)

  1. Having the mean (see noun below) as its value.
  2. (obsolete) Middling; intermediate; moderately good, tolerable.
Noun

mean (plural means)

  1. (now chiefly in the plural) A method or course of action used to achieve some result. [from 14th c.]
  2. (obsolete, in the singular) An intermediate step or intermediate steps.
  3. Something which is intermediate or in the middle; an intermediate value or range of values; a medium. [from 14th c.]
  4. (music, now historical) The middle part of three-part polyphonic music; now specifically, the alto part in polyphonic music; an alto instrument. [from 15th c.]
  5. (statistics) The average of a set of values, calculated by summing them together and dividing by the number of terms; the arithmetic mean. [from 15th c.]
  6. (mathematics) Any function of multiple variables that satisfies certain properties and yields a number representative of its arguments; or, the number so yielded; a measure of central tendency.
  7. (mathematics) Either of the two numbers in the middle of a conventionally presented proportion, as 2 and 3 in 1:2=3:6.

Results 184 Words with the letters MEAN

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6 letter words with the letters MEAN 
ACUMEN 14
AIDMEN 11
AIRMEN 10
ALMNER 11
AMEBAN 13
AMENDS 11
AMENTS 10
AMINES 10
AMMINE 13
ANADEM 11
ANEMIA 10
ANEMIC 13
ANIMES 10
ANOMIE 10
ANTHEM 12
ASHMEN 12
AXEMAN 17
AXEMEN 17
BADMEN 14
BAGMEN 15
BARMEN 13
BATMEN 13
BAYMEN 15
BEDAMN 14
BEMEAN 13
BEMOAN 13
BENAME 13
BYNAME 15
CABMEN 16
CARMEN 13
CINEMA 13
DAEMON 11
DAIMEN 11
DAMNED 12
DAMNER 11
DAMPEN 14
DEMAND 12
DEMEAN 11
DESMAN 11
EMBANK 17
ENAMEL 11
ENAMOR 10
ENCAMP 16
ENEMAS 10
ENGRAM 12
ENIGMA 12
ETAMIN 10
EXAMEN 17
FAMINE 13
FLAMEN 14
FOEMAN 13
GAGMEN 14
GAMINE 12
GASMEN 12
GERMAN 12
HAEMIN 12
HETMAN 12
HUMANE 13
ICEMAN 13
IMMANE 13
INMATE 10
INSEAM 10
KINEMA 14
LAMENT 11
LAWMEN 14
LAYMEN 13
LEGMAN 13
LEMANS 11
MADDEN 12
MADMEN 14
MAENAD 11
MAGNET 12
MAIDEN 11
MALINE 11
MANAGE 12
MANCHE 15
MANEGE 12
MANGEL 13
MANGER 12
MANGES 12
MANGEY 14
MANGLE 13
MANNED 12
MANNER 11
MANQUE 20
MANSES 10
MANTEL 11
MANTES 10
MANTLE 11
MANURE 11
MARINE 10
MARTEN 10
MAVENS 14
MEANER 10
MEANIE 10
MEANLY 13
MEDIAN 11
MEDINA 11
MENACE 13
MENADS 11
MENAGE 12
MENIAL 11
MENSAE 10
MENSAL 11
MENSAS 10
MENTAL 11
MERMAN 13
MESIAN 10
MESSAN 10
MOANED 11
MOANER 10
NAMELY 13
NAMERS 10
OMENTA 10
PENMAN 14
PNEUMA 14
PREMAN 13
RAGMEN 12
REMAIN 10
REMAND 11
REMANS 10
RENAME 10
SEAMAN 10
SEAMEN 10
SEMINA 10
STAMEN 10
TAMEIN 10
TANDEM 11
TAXMEN 17
UNMADE 12
UNMAKE 15
UNSEAM 11
UNTAME 11
VANMEN 15
YAMENS 12
YEOMAN 12
5 letter words with the letters MEAN 
ADMEN 10
AMEND 10
AXMEN 16
LEMAN 10
MANED 10
MANGE 11
MAVEN 13
MEANY 11
MENAD 10
NAMED 10
YAMEN 11
4 letter words with the letters MEAN 
AMEN 8
MANE 8
MEAN 8
NAME 8
NEMA 8
3 letter words with the letters MEAN 
ANE 4
MAE 6
MAN 7
MEN 7
NAE 4
NAM 7
2 letter words with the letters MEAN 
AE 2
AM 5
AN 3
EM 5
EN 3
MA 5
ME 5
NA 3
NE 3

You can also try words with the phrase MEAN, words starting with the letters MEAN, or words ending in the letters MEAN.