transitive verb meant (ment), meaning mean′·ing

1. to have in mind; intend; purpose he means to go
2. 1. to intend or design for a certain person or purpose a gift meant for you
   2. to destine or seem to destine he was meant to be a doctor
3. to intend to express, signify, or indicate to say what one means
4. 1. to be used to convey; denote the German word “ja” means “yes”
   2. to be a sign, indication, or herald of; signify this means war!

Etymology: ME menen < OE mænan, to mean, tell, complain, akin to Ger meinen, to have in mind, have as opinion < IE base *meino-, opinion, intent > OIr mian, wish, desire

intransitive verb

1. to have a purpose or intention in mind: chiefly in mean well, to have good intentions
2. to have a (specified) degree of importance, effect, or influence honors mean little to him

adjective

1. low in quality, value, or importance; paltry; poor; inferior: now usually in negative constructions paid no mean sum
2. Rare low in social status or rank; of humble origin
3. poor in appearance; shabby a mean dwelling
4. ignoble; base; small-minded; petty
5. stingy; miserly; penurious
6. ☆ bad-tempered; vicious; unmanageable: said of a horse, etc.
7. ☆ pettily or contemptibly selfish, bad-tempered, disagreeable, malicious, etc.
8. ☆ humiliated or ashamed
9. ☆ Informal in poor health; not well; ill; indisposed
10. ☆ Slang
    1. hard to cope with; difficult to throw a mean curve in baseball
    2. skillful; expert to play a mean game of chess

Etymology: ME mene, common, hence mean < OE (ge)mæne, akin to Ger gemein, plentiful, common

adjective

1. halfway between extremes; in a middle or intermediate position as to place, time, quantity, quality, kind, value, degree, etc.
2. medium; average; middling

Etymology: ME mene < OFr meien (Fr moyen) < L medianus: see median

noun

1. what is between extremes; intermediate state, quality, course, or procedure
2. avoidance of extremes or excess; moderation
3. Math.
   1. a number between the smallest and largest values of a set of quantities, obtained by some prescribed method: unless otherwise qualified, the arithmetic mean
   2. the number obtained by multiplying each value of x by the probability (or probability density) of x and then summing (or integrating) over the range of x
   3. the second or third term of a four-term proportion