mean
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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I don’t mean to discourage lofty goals, but we’ve been let down time after time, feeding cynicism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026
"It would mean a lot. It's the spirit and essence of this club," he says.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
Yet the observations of J1328−1450 suggest that the death of a star does not necessarily mean the complete disappearance of its planetary system.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
Yet a temporary slowdown in the U.S. data-center buildout doesn’t necessarily mean lower revenues for AI-exposed companies in the coming quarters, Lior Prosor, managing partner at venture-capital firm Deep33, told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
Even a warning doesn’t mean she has to go to the cellar, though.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
He told the crowd in Plaza Independencia the care he received made him think of the "many men and women who lack the means to obtain a timely diagnosis" or receive treatment.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
Under this view, restoring nature often means allowing trees to reclaim open areas or planting forests where they no longer exist.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 7, 2026
That means there are about 1,500 properties left for the state to clean up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
“We may be heading into the first earnings season in a long time with more cautious forecasts and expectations,” he noted, which means “room for some meaningful beats.”
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
In Alaska, for instance, the bears already know that the sound of a moose hunter’s gun means there will be a fresh gut pile when the hunter cleans the moose.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
The Financial Times's Danny Leigh dished out three stars, saying it paints a "portrait of tech rendering the young both sadder and meaner".
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
So instead of being better than their neighbors to the north, the Americans leaned into being meaner, heavier and generally more irritating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026
In turn, increased efficiency allows them to be meaner toward prospective employees.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026
His memory lapse hasn’t made folks meaner — it’s just made Paul unaccustomed to the hassle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2025
"There's good money in sewer rats. The meaner, the better."
From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman
Dubbed 'The Bosnian Brick Wall' by fans, he has helped Leeds boast the second meanest defence in the Premier League behind defending champions Arsenal.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
"Candidates should not try to be the meanest sheriff."
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
Readers eventually learn how Odd, whom Buddy describes as “the meanest human creature in my experience,” ends up at Buddy’s home for the holiday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
He delivers the meanest quip in a respectful movie when he tells Reed, “I take back every single bad thing I’ve been saying about you … to myself, in private.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2025
That’s where he and his friends—all the biggest and meanest kids in school—liked to hang out.
From "Hopping Mad (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #4)" by Franklin W. Dixon
The pickup was once meant to showcase Tesla’s newest EV technologies, while unlocking the highly profitable truck market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
While they’re meant to be in love, their screen chemistry feels closer to roommates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
We were grateful for all our readers but unaware of what we meant to most of them.
From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2026
The Care Inspectorate's August 2023 visit was meant to be unannounced, but the regulator has since admitted it is likely Mathewson received "confidential information" about inspections from an employee.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
I wanted to tell her how much the day had meant to me.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
Instead of a single ring of vaporized planetary material, it has two concentric rings, meaning one lies farther from the star than the other.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
Megan Russon, 21, is a recently graduated tax accountant from Cannock with a starting salary of around £29,000, meaning she will repay about £30 a month.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Statistics Canada said that, among the 1.5 million people who were unemployed in October, almost 24% were in what is considered long-term unemployment, meaning they have been continuously searching for work 27 weeks or more.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Walgreens proceeded to shutter 60 VillageMD clinics as part of its strategy to focus on “our highest opportunity markets,” Driscoll said, meaning affluent urban and suburban areas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
But now I can’t tell if it means anything at all or if I’m just so desperate for meaning that I’m inventing it where there is none.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Vocabulary lists containing mean
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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