How do you use the word "mean" in a sentence?

Q: How do you use the word "mean" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "mean": I may be antisocial, but it doesn't mean I don't talk to people. If you look at the lyrics, they don't really mean much.

Mean Meaning

/miːn/

Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

verbTo intend.

verbTo intend., To intend, to plan (to do); to have as one's intention.

Sentence Examples

I may be antisocial, but it doesn't mean I don't talk to people.

If you look at the lyrics, they don't really mean much.

This could mean the difference between life and death.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

base awful normal

Antonyms:

nice abnormal

CEFR Practice Quiz

The ____ bully stole the little kid's toy and laughed at him cruelly.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

I don't understand what you ____ by that comment could you please explain it more clearly?

Word Origin & History

From Middle English menen (“to intend; remember; lament; comfort”), from Old English mǣnan (“to mean, complain”), Proto-West Germanic *mainijan, from Proto-Germanic *mainijaną (“to mean, think; complain”), from Proto-Indo-European *meyn- (“to think”), or perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *meyno-, extended form of Proto-Indo-European *mey-. Germanic cognates include West Frisian miene (“to deem, think”) (Old Frisian mēna (“to signify”)), Dutch menen (“to believe, think, mean”) (Middle Dutch menen (“to think, intend”)), German meinen (“to think, mean, believe”), Old Saxon mēnian. Indo-European cognates include Old Irish mían (“wish, desire”) and Polish mienić (“to signify, believe”). Non-Indo-European cognates include Finnish mainita (“to mention”), Finnish meinata (“to mean, to plan, to intend”) Estonian mainima (“to mention”), Northern Sami máinnastit (“to tell”). Related to moan.

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"Doo not my captaines and my ſouldiers looke As if they meant to conquer Affrica?" — c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:

"An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine." — 2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, →ISSN, page 5:

"A term should be included if it’s likely that someone would run across it and want to know what it means." — 2010, Alexander Humez, Nicholas Humez, Rob Flynn, quoting Wiktionary, Short Cuts: A Guide to Oaths, Ring Tones, Ransom Notes, Famous Last Words, and Other Forms of Minimalist Communication, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 33:

"Americans, for example, call newcomers to Antarctica “fingies”, which comes from FNGs – a borrowed military abbreviation that means “Fucking New Guy”." — 2024 June 20, Eva Corlett, “Fidlets, fingies and riding a doo: study sheds light on Antarctic English slang”, in The Guardian:

"It was a goal that meant West Ham won on their first appearance at Wembley in 31 years, in doing so becoming the first team since Leicester in 1996 to bounce straight back to the Premier League through the play-offs." — 2012 May 19, Paul Fletcher, “Blackpool 1-2 West Ham”, in BBC Sport:

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