Mean definition

Mean as an adjective

1. approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value

   "the mean annual rainfall"

   Same sense: average

2. characterized by malice

   "in a mean mood"

   Same sense: hateful

3. having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality

   "taking a mean advantage"

   Same sense: base, meanspirited

4. marked by poverty befitting a beggar

   "a mean hut"

   Same sense: beggarly

5. (used of persons or behavior) characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity

   "a mean person"

   Same sense: tight, miserly, mingy

6. (used of sums of money) so small in amount as to deserve contempt

   Same sense: beggarly

7. of no value or worth

   Same sense: bastardly

8. very good; of the highest quality

   "famous for a mean backhand"

   Same sense: first-class, excellent, splendid, ripping, fantabulous

Mean as a verb

9. mean or intend to express or convey

   "You never understand what I mean!"

   Same sense: intend

10. have as a logical consequence

    "The water shortage means that we have to stop taking long showers"

    Same sense: imply, entail

11. denote or connote

    "‘maison’ means ‘house’ in French"

    Same sense: stand for, intend, signify

12. have in mind as a purpose

    "I mean no harm"

    Same sense: think, intend

13. have a specified degree of importance

    "My ex-husband means nothing to me"

14. intend to refer to

    "Yes, I meant you when I complained about people who gossip!"

    Same sense: think of, have in mind

15. destine or designate for a certain purpose

    "These flowers were meant for you"

Mean as a noun

16. an average of n numbers computed by adding some function of the numbers and dividing by some function of n

    Same sense: mean value

Synonyms and antonyms

• average definition
• hateful
• base
• meanspirited
• beggarly
• tight
• miserly
• mingy
• bastardly
• first-class
• excellent
• splendid
• ripping
• fantabulous
• intend
• imply
• entail
• stand for
• signify
• think definition
• think of
• have in mind
• mean value

All synonyms of mean, sense by sense

How to say mean

Mean has 1 syllable and rhymes with between. Syllable counts and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary.

Words that rhyme with mean

• between
• seen
• green
• scene
• clean
• machine
• queen
• screen
• magazine
• marine
• protein
• dean

All 158 words that rhyme with mean

MEAN in word games

Scrabble

6

Words With Friends

8

Anagrams

4

Is MEAN a valid Scrabble word? Yes, it is in the ENABLE list most word games use. Check MEAN in the word checker, or unscramble MEAN to see its 4 anagrams and the shorter words in its letters.