What does “mean” mean?
- 1
verbto have a particular meaning or to express a particular idea
What does this word mean?
- 2
verbto intend to say or do something
Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.
- 3
adjectiveunkind or cruel to other people
It was mean of him to laugh at her.
Mean at a glance
- Part of speech
- verb & adjective
- CEFR level
- A2 (elementary)
- Pronunciation
- /min/ · MEEN
- Forms
- meant, meaning
How to use “mean” correctly
Ask “What does it mean?”, not “What means it?” The past form is “meant” (/mɛnt/), not “meaned.”
Common phrases with “mean”
- mean to do sth
- I mean
- be mean to sb
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Word family
- meaning
- meaningful
- meaningless
- means
“mean” is on these word lists
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