means en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /minz/ (Canada, General-American)
- /miːnz/ (Australia, New-Zealand, Received-Pronunciation)
- (US) audio
Etymology
From mean (“method or course of action used to achieve some result”). Compare French moyens, German Mittel.
Meanings
-
(plural, plural-only, uncountable) Financial resources; wealth.
a person of means; independent means
Because there is too much civilisation, too much means of subsistence, too much industry, too much commerce
1888, Karl Marx, edited by Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, page 5:Where there is much means to be used, and conditions yet to be performed, for the continuation and Consummation of our Justification, there it is not yet continued or consummate.
1676, Richard Baxter, A Treatise of Justifying Righteousness, page 163:Then the other 12 packers […] were men without much means, who lived in Fresno
1921, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary, Authorizing association of producers of agricultural products, page 99:He was living beyond his means.
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An instrument or condition to achieve a result.
She treated him as a means to an end.
And by this means also he had them the more at vantage, being tired and harassed with a long march; and more at mercy, being cut off far from their country, and therefore not able by any sudden flight to get to retreat, and to renew their troubles.
1622, Francis Bacon, History of the reign of King Henry VII:A car is a means of transport.
Our hope in him is dead: let us return, And strain what other means is left unto us In our dear peril.
1623, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, act V, scene 1:There are two means of egress out of the building.
In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.
2013 June 7, Ed Pilkington, “‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 6:
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(form-of, plural) plural of mean
form of mean
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(plural, plural-only, uncountable) Financial resources; wealth. ▸ Substantial wealth.
She is a woman of means.
Some kind of writer. He didn't have to make a living; he had means.
1955, Rex Stout, “Die Like a Dog”, in Three Witnesses, Bantam Books, published 14 October 1994, →ISBN, page 154:Hotels that are so priced that only people of means can stay.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| means | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
live beyond one's means · by any means · k-means clustering · means of production · the end justifies the means · means of exchange · by no means · not by any manner of means · by fair means or foul · within one's means · means of transportation · production means · means of grace · independent means · means to an end · means of egress · private means · woman of means · not by any means · means of transport · by no manner of means · man of means · means test · ways and means · of means · the ends justify the means · of modest means · means of survival · economy of means · means of labor · means of labour · by means of · by all means
Synonyms
Translations (68)
pl środki (resources) · ca mitjà (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · fi varat (resources) · be сро́дак (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · ru спо́соб (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · tr kaynak (resources) · nn middel (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · la opēs (resources) · bg състоя́ние (resources) · fr moyens (resources) · hi संसाधन (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · pl medium (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · nl middelen (resources) · eo rimedoj (resources) · ru сре́дства (resources) · zu isu (resources) · zu icebo (resources) · ga gustal (resources) · la īnstrūmentum (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · fi väline (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · cmn 方法 (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · es medios (resources) · ja 手段 (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · ja 方法 (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · hy հնար (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · de Mittel (resources) · ko 수단 (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · bn আওকাত (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · la māchināmen (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · el δυνατότητες (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · ru бога́тство (resources) · da middel (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · bg сре́дство (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · ka საშუალება (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · cs prostředky (resources) · be спо́саб (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · sv medel (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · es medio (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · gl medio (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · ko 방법 (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · bg бога́тство (resources) · hi साधन (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · lv līdzeklis (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · it mezzo (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · uk за́сіб (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · hi संसाधन (resources) · km មធ្យោបាយ (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · fi varallisuus (resources) · nb middel (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · ka ხერხი (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · uk бага́тство (resources) · nl middel (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · pl środki (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · ru сре́дство (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · uk спо́сіб (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · de Mittel (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · ru состоя́ние (resources) · el μέσο (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · he אֶמְצָעִי (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · ro mijloace (resources) · te మూలాధారాలు (resources) · bg сре́дства (resources) · lv līdzekļi (resources) · af middel (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · la facultātēs (resources) · pt meio (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · eo rimedo (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose) · bg спо́соб (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose)