Means
/miːnz/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 plural of mean form-of, plural
- 2 An instrument or condition to achieve a result.
"She treated him as a means to an end."
- 3 Financial resources; wealth. plural, plural-only, uncountable
"a person of means; independent means"
- 4 to have the ability to produce a particular effect or achieve an end wordnet
- 5 Financial resources; wealth.; Substantial wealth. plural, plural-only, uncountable
"She is a woman of means."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 an artifact (that is instrumental in accomplishing some end) for accomplishing some end wordnet
- 7 considerable capital (wealth or income) wordnet
Verb
- 1 third-person singular simple present indicative of mean form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 An unincorporated community in Menifee County, Kentucky, United States. countable, uncountable
Example
More examples"Being objective means not telling everybody whose side you are on."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From mean (“method or course of action used to achieve some result”). Compare French moyens, German Mittel.
Etymology 2
Various origins: * Reduced form of McMeans, a surname of Irish origin. * Habitational surname from the villages of East and West Meon, in Hampshire. * A nickname from Middle English mene (“inferior in rank”), which is from Old English ġemǣne (“common, general”), or Middle English mene (“moderate in behaviour”), which is from Old French mëen, mean.