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means noun [ miːnz ]

• an action or system by which a result is achieved; a method.
• "technology seen as a means to bring about emancipation"
Similar: method, way, manner, mode, measure, fashion, process, procedure, technique, expedient, agency, medium, instrument, mechanism, channel, vehicle, avenue, course,
• financial resources; income.
• "he came from a family of very modest means"
Similar: money, resources, capital, income, finance, funds, cash, the wherewithal, assets, dough, bread, dibs, moolah, shekels, gelt, loot, oof, scratch, splosh, dosh, brass, lolly, spondulicks, wonga, ackers, dineros, jack, mazuma, Oscar,
Origin: late Middle English: plural of mean3, the early sense being ‘intermediary’.

mean verb

• intend to convey or refer to (a particular thing); signify.
• "I don't know what you mean"
Similar: signify, convey, denote, designate, indicate, connote, show, express, spell out, stand for, represent, symbolize, imply, purport, suggest, allude to, intimate, hint at, insinuate, drive at, refer to, get at, betoken,
• intend (something) to occur or be the case.
• "they mean no harm"
Similar: intend, aim, plan, design, have in mind, have in view, contemplate, think of, purpose, propose, have plans, set out, aspire, desire, want, wish, expect,
• have as a consequence or result.
• "the proposals are likely to mean another hundred closures"
Similar: entail, involve, necessitate, lead to, result in, give rise to, bring about, cause, engender, produce, effect, presage, portend, foretell, augur, promise, foreshadow, herald, signal, bode, betoken, foretoken, forebode, adumbrate,
Origin: Old English mænan, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch meenen and German meinen, from an Indo-European root shared by mind.

mean noun

• the value obtained by dividing the sum of several quantities by their number; an average.
• "acid output was calculated by taking the mean of all three samples"
• a condition, quality, or course of action equally removed from two opposite extremes.
• "the measure expresses a mean between saving and splashing out"
Similar: middle course, middle way, mid point, central point, middle, happy medium, golden mean, compromise, balance, median, norm, average,
Origin: Middle English: from Old French meien, from Latin medianus ‘middle’ (see median).

beyond one's means

• beyond one's budget or income.
"most people who are living beyond their means don't realise until it's too late"

by all means

• of course; certainly (granting a permission).
"‘May I make a suggestion?’ ‘By all means.’"

by any means

• in any way; at all.
"I'm not poor by any means"

by means of

• with the help of; by using.
"supplying water to cities by means of aqueducts"

by no means

• not at all; certainly not.
"the outcome is by no means guaranteed"

means of grace

• the sacraments and other religious agencies viewed as the means by which divine grace is imparted to the soul, or by which growth in grace is promoted.

a means to an end

• a thing that is not valued or important in itself but is useful in achieving an aim.
"higher education was seen primarily as a means to an end"

within one's means

• within one's budget or income.
"a flat that was within her means"



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