mean
verb
uk/miːn/us/miːn/meant|meantmeanverb(EXPRESS)
A2[T]
toexpressorrepresentsomething such as anidea,thought, orfact:
意思是；意味着What does this word mean?这个词是什么意思？
[+ that]Thesefiguresmeanthatalmostsixpercentof theworkingpopulationisunemployed.这些数字意味着近6%的劳动人口处于失业状态。
What do you meanbythatremark?你那话是什么意思？
She'skindofstrangethough. Do youknowwhat I mean?可是她有点怪。你明白我指什么吗？
"They allshowedup." "You mean theentirefamily?"“他们都出现了。”“你是说整个家族？”
[T]
used toaddemphasisto what you are saying:
（用于强调）是…的意思Iwantyouhomebymidnight.And Imeanmidnight.我要你午夜前回家，记住是午夜。
Give it back now! I meanit.现在就把它还了！我是说真的。
- When he said three o'clock, Ithoughthe meant in theafternoon.
- Charges are made on aslidingscale, which means that theamountyou mustpayincreaseswith thelevelofyourincome.
- If you don'tknowwhat the word means,lookit up in adictionary.
- You should take it as acomplimentwhen Ifallasleepinyourcompany- it means I'mrelaxed.
- Acontinuouswhitelinein themiddleof theroadmeans noovertaking.
Meaning & significance
- add
- add up tosomething
- backspin
- be a badge ofsomethingidiom
- connotate
- connotation
- i.e.
- locution
- locutionary
- meaning
- meaningfully
- meaningfulness
- meaningless
- purport
- sense
- significant
- signify
- speak
- subtext
- what's withsomething?idiom
meanverb(HAVE RESULT)
B1[T]
to have aparticularresult:
意味着；结果是Lowercostsmeanlowerprices.成本降低，价格就会下降。
[+ that]Advances inelectronicsmeanthatthetechnologyis alreadyavailable.电子学方面的进步使这项技术已经可供人们利用。
[+ -ing verb]If wewanttocatchthe 7.30train, that will mean leavingthehouseat 6.00.如果想赶上7：30的火车，那就意味着我们要6：00从家中出发。
- Highaciditylevelsin thewatermean that thefishare not solarge.
- Shortages mean thatevenstapleslikebreadaredifficulttofind.
- In a way I'dpreferit if they didn't come, because it would meanextrawork.
- Let's say that thejourneytakesthreehours, that means you'llarriveat two o'clock.
- TheirregularityofEnglishspellingmeans that it iseasyto makemistakes.
Meaning & significance
- add
- add up tosomething
- backspin
- be a badge ofsomethingidiom
- connotate
- connotation
- i.e.
- locution
- locutionary
- meaning
- meaningfully
- meaningfulness
- meaningless
- purport
- sense
- significant
- signify
- speak
- subtext
- what's withsomething?idiom
meanverb(INTEND)
B1[IorT]
tointend:
意欲，打算I'msorryif Ioffendedyou - I didn't meananyharm.如果冒犯了你我很抱歉——我并无恶意。
Thebookswithlargeprintare meantforpartiallysightedreaders.这些大字号的书是为视力有障碍的读者准备的。
[+ to infinitive]I've been meaningtocallyou allweek.我整个星期都想着要给你打电话。
Do youthinkshe meanttosay 9 a.m.insteadof 9 p.m.?你认为她是想说上午9点而不是晚上9点吗？
They didn't meanforhertoreadtheletter.他们并不想让她读那封信。
be meant to do sth
to beintendedto:
被期望，应该，预期Thesebatteriesare meant to last for ayear.这些电池应该能用一年。
Thisexerciseisn't meant to bedifficult.这个练习不会很难。
We were meant to have gone away thisweek, but Debbie'sillso we couldn't go.这周我们本该走了，但是戴比病了，所以我们走不了了。
You are meant torubthemedicineon theaffectedarea, notswallowit.你应该把药抹在受感染部位，而不是吞服。
- I didn't mean to berude- it just came out like that.
- He doesn't really mean it - he's just beingcontrary.
- He's always makingflatteringremarks, but he doesn't really mean them.
- I didn't mean toupsether - it was just abitoffun.
- He didn't mean it - he said it in theheatof themoment.
Planning, expecting and arranging
- accidentally
- accidentally on purposeidiom
- advertent
- advisedly
- aim atsomething
- bargain
- I might have knownidiom
- I'll/we'll cross that bridge when I/we come/get to itidiom
- insomeone'scrosshairsidiom
- in the pipelineidiom
- in the worksidiom
- pencil
- provision
- purposefully
- purposely
- put the cart before the horseidiom
- puttheirheads togetheridiom
- rearrange
- settle
- sleeve
meanverb(HAVE IMPORTANCE)
B1[T]
to have animportantemotionaleffecton someone:
对…具有意义，对…具有重要影响It wasn't avaluablepicturebut it meant a lottome.这不是一幅很贵重的画，但对我却很重要。
Possessions mean nothingtohim.财富对他来说毫无意义。
- Herchildrenmean all theworldto her.
- Gerald means nothing to me now.
- Hercareermeans everything to her.
- Nothing means more to me than my children'shappiness.
- Herapprovalmeant a lot to me.
Meaning & significance
- add
- add up tosomething
- backspin
- be a badge ofsomethingidiom
- connotate
- connotation
- i.e.
- locution
- locutionary
- meaning
- meaningfully
- meaningfulness
- meaningless
- purport
- sense
- significant
- signify
- speak
- subtext
- what's withsomething?idiom
Grammar
Mean
We use mean to explain or ask what a word or phrase refers to. We form questions with mean with the auxiliary verb do:…I mean
We use I mean very commonly in speaking as a discourse marker. We use it when we want to add to what we have just said, to make a point clearer or to correct what we have just said:…We often use the phrase you know what I mean (or if you know what I mean or do you know what I mean?) in speaking, to check that our listener understands what we are saying or to show that we assume the listener has the same opinion about something:…
Nouns
Nouns are one of the four major word classes, along with verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Nouns are the largest word class.…Be meant to
Be meant to is used to talk about what is desirable, expected or intended:…Idioms
be meant for each other
I mean
mean business
mean well
(do you) see what I mean?
what do you mean?
mean
adjective
uk/miːn/us/miːn/meanadjective(NOT GENEROUS)
B2mainlyUK
notwillingto give orsharethings,especiallymoney:
吝啬的，小气的He's too mean tobuyher aring.他太吝啬了，舍不得给她买一枚戒指。
My landlord's very meanwiththeheating- it's only on for twohourseachday.我的房东对使用暖气很吝啬——每天只开两个小时。
- She's reallyquiteunpleasantabout otherpeopleand she's as mean ashell.
- He's a meanoldscrooge!
- "That wasamazinglygenerousof you!" "Well, that was atwo-edgedcomment- are you saying I'm usually mean?"
- He's too mean tobuyany newclothes.
- She only gave you 50p? That was abitmean.
Mean with money
- begrudge
- cheapskate
- cheeseparing
- chintzy
- frugal
- frugally
- mingy
- miser
- miserliness
- miserly
- money grabber
- money-grubber
- parsimony
- penny-pinching
- scrooge
- skinflint
- stinginess
- tightwad
- ungenerous
- ungenerously
meanadjective(NOT KIND)
B2
unkindorunpleasant:
卑鄙的；刻薄的Stop being so meantome!别对我那么刻薄！
She just said it to be mean.她那么说就是为了让人不悦。
not kind to someone or something and causing pain
- cruelTeasing them for being overweight is cruel.
- callousHe had a callous disregard for the feelings of others.
- cold-bloodedThe budget is based on a cold-blooded analysis of the markets.
- ruthlessHe was a ruthless dictator.
- heartlessHe has been described as a heartless boss by several employees.
- He's as mean as they come.
- You shouldn't have been so mean toyourmother- shedeservesbetter.
- And she didn'tinvitehim? That was abitmean!
- Stop being so mean toyourbrother!
- It was mean of him to make herstaylate.
Unkind, cruel & unfeeling
- acerbic
- acerbity
- acidly
- anti-cruelty
- anti-humanitarian
- cruelty
- cutthroat
- fiendish
- fiendishness
- hard-hearted
- nastily
- nastiness
- nasty
- pitiless
- pitilessly
- uncharitably
- unchristian
- uncompassionate
- unfeeling
- ungenerous
meanadjective(VIOLENT)
mainlyUS
frighteningandlikelytobecomeviolent:
凶恶的；气势汹汹的a mean andangrymob一群气势汹汹、激动愤怒的暴民
a mean-lookingyouth一个面相很凶的年轻人
Violent or aggressive
- aggressive
- aggressively
- aggressiveness
- aggro
- agonistic
- ferocity
- fierce
- fierceness
- fighting words
- flex
- pugnacious
- pugnacity
- rabble-rousing
- raging
- Rambo
- viciously
- viciousness
- violence
- warlike
- warmonger
meanadjective(GOOD)
[before noun]informal
very good:
极好的，出色的She's a meanpianoplayer.她是个出色的钢琴演奏家。
Sheplaysa meanpiano(= sheplaysvery well).她钢琴弹得很棒。
Informal words for good
- A-OK
- amazeballs
- apple pie
- awesomesauce
- badass
- dank
- ill
- jim-dandy
- juicy
- killer
- knock
- knock spots offsomethingidiom
- like a bossidiom
- out of sightidiom
- safe
- shabby
- shit hot
- sight
- smashing
- some
meanadjective(BAD QUALITY)
[before noun]informal
poor,dirty, and ofbadquality:
贫穷；肮脏；劣质He wasbornin the meanstreetsof Detroit in 1945.他1945年出生在底特律的贫民区。
Not of good quality
- a miserable, poor, etc. excuse forsomethingidiom
- appallingly
- atrocious
- atrociously
- awfully
- awfulness
- badness
- downscale
- inadequacy
- inadequate
- inadequately
- janky
- shite
- tacky
- tawdriness
- tawdry
- thinness
- third-class
- third-rate
- wretched
meanadjective(MATHEMATICS)
C2[before noun]mathematicsspecialized
a meannumberis anaveragenumber:
（数值）平均的a meanvalue平均值
Their meanweightwas 76.4kilos.他们的平均体重是76.4公斤。
Statistics
- actuarial
- actuary
- covariate
- distribution
- entropy
- interpoint
- interquartile range
- normal distribution
- odds
- pollster
- quantile
- ratio
- standard deviation
- stat
- statistic
- statistical
- statistically
- statistician
- stochastic
- vital statistics
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Averages
Idioms
no meansomething
no mean achievement/feat
mean
noun[S]
uk/miːn/us/miːn/meannoun[S](MATHEMATICS)
mathematicsspecialized(alsothe arithmetic mean)
theresultyou get byaddingtwo or moreamountstogether anddividingthetotalby thenumberofamounts:
（数学上的）平均数，平均值Themeanof5, 4, 10, and 15 is 8.5.5，4，10和15的平均值是8.5。
Compare
averagenoun(AMOUNT)
Statistics
- actuarial
- actuary
- covariate
- distribution
- entropy
- interpoint
- interquartile range
- normal distribution
- odds
- pollster
- quantile
- ratio
- standard deviation
- stat
- statistic
- statistical
- statistically
- statistician
- stochastic
- vital statistics
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Averages
meannoun[S](METHOD)
formal
aqualityor way of doing something that is in themiddleof twocompletelydifferentqualitiesorwaysof doing something:
中间；中庸；适度We need tofindameanbetweentestquestionsthat are toodifficultand those that are tooeasy.我们需要出难度适中的考题。
Ways of achieving things
- actively
- another
- approach
- avenue
- bases
- basis
- device
- formula
- media
- method
- methodological
- methodologically
- methodology
- strategy
- styleless
- stylistic
- stylistically
- technique
- thus
- vehicle
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Averages