| 单词 | mean |
| 释义 | 1. verb uses2. adjective uses3. noun use mean (miːn ) verb uses Word forms: means , meaning , meant 1. verb [no cont] A2 If you want to know what a word, code, signal, or gesture means, you want to know what it refers to or what its message is. In modern Welsh, 'glas' means 'blue'. [VERB noun] What does 'evidence' mean? [VERB noun] The red signal means you can shoot. [VERB that] Synonyms: signify, say, suggest, indicate 2. verb [no cont] B1 If you ask someone what they mean, you are asking them to explain exactly what or who they are referring to or what they are intending to say. Do you mean me? [VERB noun] Let me illustrate what I mean with an old story. [VERB noun] What do you think he means by that? [VERB noun] I think he means that he does not want this marriage to turn out like his friend's. [VERB that] Synonyms: imply, suggest, intend, indicate 3. verb [no cont] B1+ If something means something to you, it is important to you in some way. The idea that she witnessed this shameful incident meant nothing to him. It would mean a lot to them to win. [VERB noun to-infinitive] 4. verb [no cont] B1+ If one thing means another, it shows that the second thing exists or is true. An enlarged prostate does not necessarily mean cancer. [VERB noun] Just because he has a beard doesn't necessarily mean he's a hippy. [VERB that] Synonyms: presage, promise, herald, foreshadow 5. verb [no cont] B1+ If one thing means another, the first thing leads to the second thing happening. It would almost certainly mean the end of NATO. [VERB noun] Trade and product discounts can also mean big savings. [VERB noun] Failure to act now will mean that our society will change beyond recognition. [VERB that] Synonyms: result in, cause, produce, effect 6. verb B1+ If doing one thing means doing another, it involves doing the second thing. Children prefer to live in peace, even if that means living with only one parent. [V -ing] Managing well means communicating well. [VERB verb-ing] 7. verb [no cont] If you say that you mean what you are saying, you are telling someone that you are serious about it and are not joking, exaggerating, or just being polite. He says you're fired if you're not back at work on Friday. And I think he meant it. [VERB noun] He could see I meant what I said. So he took his fur coat and left. [VERB noun] 8. verb [no cont] B1 If you say that someone meant to do something, you are saying that they did it deliberately. I didn't mean to hurt you. [VERB to-infinitive] If that sounds harsh, it is meant to. [VERB to-infinitive] Did you mean to leave your dog here? [VERB to-infinitive] I can see why you believed my letters were threatening but I never meant them to be. [VERB noun to-infinitive] Synonyms: intend, want, plan, expect 9. verb [no cont] B1 If you say that someone did not mean any harm, offence, or disrespect, you are saying that they did not intend to upset or offend people or to cause problems, even though they may in fact have done so. I'm sure he didn't mean any harm. [VERB noun] I didn't mean any offence. It was a flippant, off-the-cuff remark. [VERB noun] 10. verb [no cont] B1 If you mean to do something, you intend or plan to do it. Summer is the perfect time to catch up on the new books you meant to read. [VERB to-infinitive] You know very well what I meant to say. [VERB to-infinitive] I mean to look after my body. [VERB to-infinitive] 11. verb [usually passive, no cont] If you say that something was meant to happen, you believe that it was made to happen by God or fate, and did not just happen by chance. John was constantly reassuring me that we were meant to be together. [be VERB-ed to-infinitive] Synonyms: destine, make, design, suit 12. I mean phrase B2 You say 'I mean' when making clearer something that you have just said. [spoken] It was his idea. Gordon's, I mean. Is something upsetting you–I mean, apart from this business? 13. I mean phrase You can use 'I mean' to introduce a statement, especially one that justifies something that you have just said. [spoken] I'm sure he wouldn't mind. I mean, I was the one who asked him. 14. I mean phrase B1+ You say I mean when correcting something that you have just said. [spoken] It was law or classics–I mean English or classics. 15. know what it means to do sth/know what sth means phrase If you know what it means to do something, you know everything that is involved in a particular activity or experience, especially the effect that it has on you. I know what it means to lose a child under such tragic circumstances. 16. mean something to sb phrase If a name, word, or phrase means something to you, you have heard it before and you know what it refers to. 'Oh, Gairdner,' he said, as if that meant something to him. Does the word 'Fareham' mean anything to anyone? 17. to mean well phrase If you say that someone means well, you mean they are trying to be kind and helpful, even though they might be causing someone problems or upsetting them. I know you mean well, but I can manage by myself. 18. you mean phrase B2 You use 'you mean' in a question to check that you have understood what someone has said. What accident? You mean Christina's? 'What if I had said no?' 'About the apartment, you mean?' 19. See also meaning, means, meant 20. to mean business phrase If you say that someone means business, you mean they are serious and determined about what they are doing. [informal] Now people are starting to realise that he means business. Synonyms: be serious, be determined, be resolute, be set on something 21. if you know what I mean convention B2 You can use expressions such as you know what I mean and if you know what I mean to suggest that the person listening to you understands what you are trying to say, and so you do not have to explain any more. [spoken] None of us stayed long. I mean, the atmosphere wasn't–well, you know what I mean. She was a bit stuck up, know what I mean? mean (miːn ) adjective uses Word forms: meaner , meanest 1. adjective B2 If you describe someone as mean, you are being critical of them because they are unwilling to spend much money or to use very much of a particular thing. [mainly British, disapproval] Don't be mean with fabric, otherwise curtains will end up looking skimpy. Synonyms: miserly, stingy, parsimonious, niggardly meanness uncountable noun This very careful attitude to money can sometimes border on meanness. Synonyms: lowliness, obscurity, servility, baseness Synonyms: shabbiness, squalor, insignificance, pettiness Synonyms: malice, hostility, bad temper, rudeness Synonyms: pettiness, degradation, degeneracy, wretchedness Synonyms: miserliness, parsimony [formal], stinginess, tight-fistedness 2. adjective B2 If you describe an amount as mean, you are saying that it is very small. [British, disapproval] ...the meanest grant possible from the local council. 3. adjective [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE] B2 If someone is being mean, they are being unkind to another person, for example by not allowing them to do something. The little girls had locked themselves in upstairs because Mack had been mean to them. [+ to] I'd feel mean saying no. meanly adverb [usually ADVERB with verb, oft ADVERB adjective] He had been behaving very meanly to his girlfriend. 4. adjective If you describe a person or animal as mean, you are saying that they are very bad-tempered and cruel. [mainly US] ...the meanest fighter in the world. 5. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun] If you describe a place as mean, you think that it looks poor and dirty. He was raised on the mean streets of the central market district of Panama City. Synonyms: shabby, poor, miserable, rundown 6. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun] You can use mean in expressions such as 'He plays a mean trumpet' and 'She mixes a mean cocktail' to indicate that someone does something extremely well. [informal, approval] He cooks a mean salmon. Marge played a mean game of tennis. Synonyms: excellent, great [informal], outstanding, superb 7. no mean sth phrase You can use no mean in expressions such as 'no mean writer' and 'no mean golfer' to indicate that someone does something well. [informal, approval] She was no mean performer on a variety of other instruments. Moreover, Ramsay was no mean thinker himself. 8. no mean sth phrase You can use no mean in expressions such as 'no mean achievement' and 'no mean task' to indicate that someone has done something they deserve to be proud of. To destroy 121 enemy aircraft is no mean record. They reached the final, which was no mean achievement. mean (miːn ) noun use 1. singular noun [oft NOUN noun] The mean is a number that is the average of a set of numbers. Take a hundred and twenty values and calculate the mean. ...the mean score for 26-year-olds. Synonyms: average, middle, balance, norm 2. See also means Idioms: mean business to be serious and determined about what you are doing One of them poked a shotgun at me. I could see he meant business. Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers Collocations: a bit mean This seems a bit mean. The Sun (2012) So you might argue that we're being a bit mean asking you to guess. Times, Sunday Times (2006) It can also feel a bit mean or irrelevant to expose a subject's clumsy attempts at seduction. Times, Sunday Times (2007) She's still only 14 and has no alternative means of survival. Times, Sunday Times City authorities are discouraging driving by penalising car owners and putting money into providing alternative means of transport. Times, Sunday Times Please can we restrict fireworks and bonfires in 2020 and create alternative means of celebration and display. Times,Sunday Times Less well-known companies are also looking at bonds as an alternative means of raising finance. Times, Sunday Times Labour should seek alternative means of funding. Times, Sunday Times She wanted to escape not only the past, but also the conventional means of escaping the past by thinking and writing about it. The Times Literary Supplement Using chemicals and other conventional means to destroy it would cost at least 1.5 billion. Times, Sunday Times He added that nicotine was difficult to administer in significant nonharmful doses by conventional means, such as a patch or inhaler. Times, Sunday Times This battle cannot be won by conventional means. The Sun This leads to an obvious conclusion: conventional means of supply and distribution are not enough. Times, Sunday Times Conflicts had to be resolved by political and diplomatic means, he said. Times, Sunday Times They must use all diplomatic means to step up the pressure on all parties to the conflict. Times, Sunday Times He was convinced that the stand-off could be resolved by diplomatic means. Times, Sunday Times The second, that of exhausting all diplomatic means, alas, could soon be met. Times, Sunday Times Victory can be gained by military or diplomatic means. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Is it an efficient means of raising tax revenue? Times, Sunday Times Good quality outcome measures are the most efficient means of assuring patients that the centre treating them achieves national and international standards. Times, Sunday Times You should look for tax- efficient means of saving. Times, Sunday Times What an efficient means of genetic refinement. Times, Sunday Times Combinate makes no sense to the left brain besides being an efficient means of reducing complexity. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Most factual knowledge could be delivered by books and electronic means. Times, Sunday Times How strange that we've come full circle to the first electronic means of communication. ST What the groups had in common was not ideology or circumstance, but the act of protest itself, and the electronic means to combine. Times, Sunday Times In the past decade, there have been revolutionary changes in the conveying of news and comment by electronic means. Times, Sunday Times Even though so many of them are now transacted by electronic means, in the beginning they flourished on a rich organic compost of constant face-to-face conversation. Times, Sunday Times A detective said the court was 'satisfied that his wealth could only have been acquired through illegal means'. The Sun By the time he starts enriching himself by illegal means, he has usually been employed by the company for six or more years. Times, Sunday Times Their characters were also twinned in that they registered no remorse about the illegal means with which they conquered their sport. Times, Sunday Times He claims that the twins led a conspiracy to seize control of the group using illegal means. Times, Sunday Times This interpretation can, genuinely, spread a good-news message: that dopers can find a way of reaching their best without resorting to illegal means. Times, Sunday Times Sadly, as the stakes become higher, the indirect means of winning are playing an increasing part. Times, Sunday Times While more than 300 of these 'exoplanets' are now known, the vast majority were detected by measuring wobbles in the light from a star, or by other indirect means. Times, Sunday Times Honest people sometimes need indirect means to achieve an honest result. Times, Sunday Times Most personal blogs are an indirect means of communication with a small clique of friends, or even with one specific person. Globe and Mail The defaunation of large mammals can be done by direct or indirect means. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 We do have the legal means to combat hateful individuals. Times, Sunday Times And yet you are setting up an entire industry to snoop on those using legal means to reduce their tax liabilities. Times, Sunday Times We embrace science to give our runners every legal means for success and, more importantly, to protect their health and well-being. The Sun She said that she was trying to recover her property through legal means, but 'so far, no judge has dared to review our complaint'. Times, Sunday Times We are probably in the midst of what can only be described as a transatlantic economic war, waged using capital, technology and legal means. Times, Sunday Times Journalism should be about reporting what has happened, and uncovering corrupt and illegal conduct by legitimate means. Times, Sunday Times But if the public wills it to end, it must will any legitimate means to that end without the usual chorus of incoherent indignation. Times, Sunday Times Criminality becomes attractive when expectations of being able to fulfill goals (therefore achieving success) by legitimate means can not be fulfilled. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Paragraph 20 makes it clear that legitimate means did not include renewed rebellion. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 They are all occupiers, and we must fight them by any legitimate means. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 These comic attempts at literal enactment with limited means are interspersed with reliance on the words. The Times Literary Supplement In their adopted homeland, the family was forced to change their names and survive incognito on more limited means. Times, Sunday Times It details in dry, comic detail the daily indignities a musician of limited means goes through. Times, Sunday Times They were the start of the owneroccupier boom for people with limited means. Times, Sunday Times He just wants it to function as the best investment within their limited means. Times, Sunday Times If you are selling, however, it means increased competition. Times, Sunday Times That would mean increasing the number of adult classes from four to nine. Christianity Today Without new nuclear power stations, this will inevitably mean increased reliance on natural gas. Times, Sunday Times Sometimes it may mean increasing costs in a downturn, e.g. The Sun Extending the generosity of state pensions, whatever the compromise adopted, also means increasing the government's role in pension provision. Times, Sunday Times After relegation the mean number of seasons until promotion or relegation was three. Times, Sunday Times It was the only cell line with 100% cells infected the mean number of bacteria per cell was more than 100 in all studied series. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 In fact, the mean number of recall for the group-reference was higher than self-reference. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 In a study of the 1969/70 breeding season, the mean number of fledglings produced per nest was 1.9. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 For example, we can forecast the mean number of heads and its variance with great precision. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Highly frequented trails had a higher mean rate per worker, meaning the harvesters returned higher rates of resources more efficiently along these trails. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Fierce competition between current account providers following the launch of the government's seven-day switch guarantee means rates have been increasing. Times, Sunday Times This means rates cannot be raised for five years. The Sun Stability on this scale may well mean rates will fall even lower. The Sun The location means rates are lower than uptown. Times, Sunday Times Marriages for people who met online reported a mean score of 5.64 on a satisfaction survey, compared with 5.48 for people who met offline. Times, Sunday Times The mean score for this group was 2.83. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 The class of 2011 performed even better registering a mean score of 10.99 breaking the previous record set by the 2010 class of 10.38. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 The mean score for this group was 3.21. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 The mean score was a 3.04 with a standard deviation of 1.31. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Ultimately, means of communication are only as good as the people using them, and if those people rely on outdated databases, trouble ensues. Times, Sunday Times As a means of communication it can reflect real distress and so make an impact. Times, Sunday Times The chemical can be sensed by other plants and may be a means of communication. Times, Sunday Times Some medical experts, however, have cast doubt about this means of communication. Times, Sunday Times On a more general note, airlines often specify a preferred means of communication by which they can be contacted. Times, Sunday Times If there are critical points within the target, they also must be recognizable by the means of destruction used. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Burning has always been one of the recognised means of destruction. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Other means of destruction have been used in the past but are now obsolete. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 But in the years following the war and into the 1950s the role of design engineer languished, stigmatized by the war effort as the creator of new means of destruction. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 They had no recourse, no means of escape. Christianity Today The 13in hole will eventually be widened to 26in - the size of a standard bicycle wheel - providing the miners with a means of escape. Times, Sunday Times He also seems to have offered a means of escape. Times, Sunday Times Growing up in such a strict household, cars were her means of escape. Times, Sunday Times It's a means of escape from the minimum wage drudgery which might otherwise be their lot. The Sun These works are a commentary on the medium as a business and as a fulfilling means of expression. The Times Literary Supplement Yet in the modern, urban world, many such practical means of expression have been lost. Times, Sunday Times And yet it's his sensibilities that make him so creative, whether it's through his painting or writing or any other means of expression he can fi nd. Times, Sunday Times It's just that in the 21st century the cross-media means of expression has evolved. Times, Sunday Times And what should be a set of limitations - the same colours, the same medium, in drawing after drawing - has become a whole new means of expression. Times, Sunday Times She's still only 14 and has no alternative means of survival. Times, Sunday Times First and foremost, drinking alcohol was a means of survival. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 It simply and precisely records the 33 days it took them to travel to relative safety and their means of survival. Times, Sunday Times Early urban civilisations, far from being an expression of social and cultural advancement, were simply a means of survival in a changing world. Times, Sunday Times With the price of food continuing to rise, more and more young people see joining the fighting as their only means of survival. Times, Sunday Times He's isolated, has no means of transportation, and has no family. Christianity Today But neither of them had much money or any means of transportation. Globe and Mail Conveyance crime scenes are crimes committed by means of transportation, such as robbery or auto theft. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Roadways are the major means of transportation, while the town also has rail connectivity. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Research waned from 1920-1960 until environmental issues of pollution and diminishing natural resources reawakened the need of a more environmentally friendly means of transportation. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Before long, mechanical means were found to achieve this. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Most vibration / sound transfer from a room to the outside occurs through mechanical means. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 The patent also describes very generally with a drawing, a mechanical means to accomplish this. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 However, such substances are not generally considered friable because of the degree of difficulty involved in breaking the substance's chemical bonds through mechanical means. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Afterward, mechanical means of churning were usually substituted. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 It was, in other words, the necessary means of attaining knowledge. Christianity Today And if we will a dignified end then we must accept its necessary means. Times, Sunday Times Reading thus becomes a continuous act of interior iconoclasm: a sacred duty, as well as an absolutely necessary means to understanding the true nature of creation. The Times Literary Supplement In essence, where the regulations apply, the manager or owner must provide necessary means of escape, signs, emergency lighting, fire detection, fire doors, alarms, extinguishers etc. Times, Sunday Times History tells us that people will be more tolerant of great crimes if they deceive themselves they are the necessary means to an end such as equality. Times, Sunday Times On either side of the mirror were two gas brackets, as we had no electricity, and these were the only means of light. Times, Sunday Times The armed forces veteran admitted drink-driving but said a ban would stop him using his only means of transport. The Sun But truly they are our only means of getting here. Times, Sunday Times It's the only means they have to provide food for their family. The Sun Once the pattern was set, my only means of growing spiritually was simply to work harder. Christianity Today Yet in the modern, urban world, many such practical means of expression have been lost. Times, Sunday Times This ability to intervene and change a situation by practical means was how he defined his masculinity. Times, Sunday Times New house laws provided practical means of administration, stressing duties and rules of behavior. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 However, in some cases, probabilistic algorithms are the only practical means of solving a problem. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Since roads were few and poorly formed, the sea, with all its hazards was often the only practical means of communication. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 These have replaced the estate agent's shop window as the primary means of advertising a property for sale and provide useful information to buyers. Times, Sunday Times Troubled by a chronic stutter, he found songwriting a form of cure and his primary means of communication. Times, Sunday Times More immediately, however, writing would be her primary means of support. The Times Literary Supplement Cavalry would therefore remain the primary means of reconnaissance. Times, Sunday Times Virtually no customer, it says, now relies on public payphones as the primary means of making calls. Times, Sunday Times There his principal means of transport was a small sailing boat. Times, Sunday Times Brick chimneys only became a feature of such houses in the late 16th century; until then windows were the principal means of ventilation. Times, Sunday Times We know from other studies that those who use human sonar as a principal means of navigation are activating their visual brain. Smithsonian Mag Targets, the bureaucrat's principal means of demonstrating improvement, create a plethora of perverse incentives. Times, Sunday Times Their principal means of entertainment are puns, props (eg, 'grate' earrings) and dance routines. Times, Sunday Times Even today the rivers provide the only reliable means of access to many towns and villages. Times, Sunday Times Progress upriver halted as stranded steamers waited to be repaired or refloated or as passengers decamped in search of more reliable means of conveyance. The Times Literary Supplement No, in my experience paper and ink are a much more reliable means to catch and collect ideas, to play with them and explore their secrets. Times, Sunday Times Stone staddles were longer lasting and a more reliable means of supporting structures which were sometimes a considerable weight. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 When his linguistic fireworks fail at the end of the story, the proverb and human rhetoric in general are questioned as reliable means of communication. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 He pledged to restore calm when even he must have realised that the sole means of achieving that was his departure. Times,Sunday Times National school inspections, tests and league tables are not the sole means to safeguard quality. Times, Sunday Times Admissions tutors should be looking more closely at effort and potential, and recognising that grades are not the sole means of judging students. Times, Sunday Times Force was clearly the sole means open to the opposition if it wanted to enjoy the fruits of power. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 The production of this specialty used to be the sole means of income for many villagers in the past. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 People need special passwords, invitations from existing users and to use technical means to hide their criminal activity. The Sun Accumulating overseas experience shows that the technical means for variable charging are well within reach. Times, Sunday Times The technical means for strong security - sandbags against the cyber-hurricanes - already exist. Times, Sunday Times To date, each theory has either proven implausible, or there are insufficient data or technical means to either prove or disprove it. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Technical means, if limited to these human purposes and values, could enhance such growth and social well-being. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 More had to be invested in early-warning systems to allow information gathered through technological means to be communicated to the most vulnerable. Times, Sunday Times They argue that current copyright law hinders the realisation of these rights in today's knowledge societies relying on new technological means of communication. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 The technological means to genetically modify virus characteristics are likely to become more widely available in the future if not properly regulated. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 In general, communication (telecommunication) can be done by technological means through either electrical signals (wired communication) or electromagnetic waves (wireless communication). Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 One of the ways that both countries demonstrated this was achievements in military and technological means. Retrieved from Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0 Rising broadband use means booming demand for secure storage of electronic data. Times, Sunday Times Restricting their use means forgoing a powerful way of easing the burden that smoking-related illnesses place on our health services. Times, Sunday Times Sometimes a build-up of limescale from heavy use means soap residue actually sticks to the limescale and basins can appear more grubby. Times,Sunday Times Its use means a whole tumour can be successfully removed in 70.5 per cent of cases, up from around 30 per cent. The Sun Each comes with its own weakness and strength, and judicious use means knowing how they are compiled. Times, Sunday Times Translations: Chinese: 吝啬的, 意谓, 对…认真, 打算, 平均数 Japanese: けちな, 意味する, 本気で言う, わざと･･･する, 平均 |
| 随便看 |
|
英语词典包含147115条英英释义在线翻译词条，基本涵盖了全部常用单词的英英翻译及用法，是英语学习的有利工具。