mean well
mean
noun[ C ]
us/min/

meannoun[C] (AVERAGE)

mathematics
a number that is the result of adding a group of numbers together and then dividing the result by how many numbers were in the group
mean
adjective[ -er/-est only ]
us/min/

meanadjective[-er/-est only] (NOT KIND)

unkind or not caring:
I felt a little mean when I said I couldn’t visit her in the hospital until Saturday.

meanadjective[-er/-est only] (GOOD)

slang
very good:
She plays a mean bass fiddle.

mean | Business English

mean
noun[ S ]
uk /miːn/us
MEASURES (alsoarithmetic mean)
the result you get by adding two or more amounts together and dividing the total by the number of amounts:
The mean of 5, 4, 10, and 15 is 8.5.
a quality or way of doing something that is in the middle of two completely different qualities or ways of doing something:
a mean between sth and sthThis description doesn't give enough information, and this one is too long – we need to find a mean between the two.
mean
verb[ T ]
uk /miːn/uspresent participlemeant | past tense and past participlemeant
to express or represent something such as an idea, thought, or fact:
What does this word mean?
mean sth by sthWhat do you mean by 'rightsizing the department'?
to have a particular result:
Lower costs mean lower prices.
mean (that)Advances in electronics mean that the technology is already available.
mean doing sthIf we increased our workforce, that would mean finding larger premises.
mean
adjective
uk /miːn/us
MEASURES
a mean number is the result you get by adding two or more amounts together and dividing the total by the number of amounts:
The mean weight of the crates is 76.4 kilos.
The table above shows the mean price per dozen of large grade A eggs.
unkind:
be mean to sbIf she's ever mean to staff, she always apologizes afterwards.
not generous:
be mean with sthMy boss is well known for being mean with money.

Examples of mean

mean
Mean values should, where possible, be accompanied by standard errors or similar statistical indications of variance.
However, the publisher reserves the right to typeset material by conventional means if an author's disk proves unsatisfactory.
This symmetry means that any of the cells in the pair can star t firing before the other.
What the heroine most likely means here, is that she doesn't wish to become involved outside her chosen province of literature.
Particularly troubling to us is that no means is offered for determining at what time(s) a given parameter reflects either planning or control.
Order is maintained by two means: direct management of the relations of the players and indirect structuring of the terms of play.
This means that at the outset, we will deal with the context of ordinary differential equations.
Their restriction to shallow marine environments suggests that photosynthesis was the primary means of organic matter production for these benthic communities.
Physically, this is because, on average, the mean shear causes larger separation between particle pairs so that larger eddies disperse them.
On the other hand, each form has its own unique onset and rime, which means that no form benefits from phonetic consistency.
This task could be carried out entirely by means of (purely) natural-scientific (naturwissenschaftlichen) methods.
In the 1920s, the school was eager to distinguish itself from the government schools as a means of attracting more pupils.
Observation and interviews with the children and the classroom teachers were used as a means to gather data on the potentially psychological impact of singing.
Each point represents the mean values of these 2 variables measured on 2 large hooks from each of 10 protoscoleces from a single isolate.
Having only one parent might have meant a household necessity of replacing the loss/absence of one parent.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations withmean

mean

These are words often used in combination with mean.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

adequate means
Consequently, the patient's current ability to cope depends, in part, on whether he achieved adequate means for adaptation when he experienced stress as a child.
alternate means
The ethics consultant stressed to the attending physician that fluids need not be administered as long as the baby is kept comfortable by alternate means.
alternative means
Disarmament without providing soldiers with training, as well as help in finding alternative means of livelihood, leads to instability and internal crises.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with mean