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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Even with cooler conditions this week, the mean average temperature would need to be considerably below average for the last two weeks of August, to keep 2026 from surpassing the record set just last year.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
“It’s tough because, I mean, I feel like I’ve tried just about everything,” Tucker said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
It’s hard to find any modern examples of the corporate death penalty, but that doesn’t mean critics of abusive business haven’t attempted to invoke it.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
But that doesn’t mean you should drain your emergency fund, either.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
“That’s cool. I swim the fly too. Or, I mean, I used to. Before I tore my rotator cuff.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
That means that they can be built for $5,000 to $10,000 less than before, according to one housing policy researcher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
One of them, Samba Schutte’s Koumba Diabaté, has decided this means everything is for his taking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
However, the demand for data processing capacity as countries scramble for technological supremacy means the building will continue.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
A DHS spokesperson, when asked to comment on the family's request, pointed the BBC to its app-based voluntary departure programme as a means for non-citizens to leave the country.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
I realize he means to leave without saying anything else to me at all.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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
BP’s “leaner meaner approach could pave the way for more sustainable payouts to shareholders” but investors will want some assurance on its spending plans, Nathan says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
In turn, increased efficiency allows them to be meaner toward prospective employees.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026
The soccer world is about to become a colder, darker and meaner place.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
My mom used to say he’d grow out of it, but he just grew meaner and meaner.
From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick
"Candidates should not try to be the meanest sheriff."
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
Given Chelsea boast the meanest defence in the division with just six goals conceded from 12 games, being clinical at the other end could be a lethal combination.
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 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
I was behind the wheel of the biggest, meanest, greenest, most American street-legal machine in existence.
From Slate ● Jun. 22, 2025
I had to stop the guide right there and ask him, “Now, would they be his favorite wives they’d bury with him, or the meanest ones, or what?”
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
When Fosse won the Nobel in 2023, that meant publishing a big run of his almost 700-page masterwork.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
“At a high level what we’re talking about is a lie that is meant to get people to act to their detriment. … We would classically describe that as fraud,” Yeargain said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Twisha's death has generated an extraordinary interest in India because in public perception, members of India's powerful judiciary are meant to lead by example.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Enlli believes her age meant ovarian cancer wasn't initially suspected, and while she doesn't blame doctors as it was such a rare case, she hopes lessons can be learnt from her story.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
The wolverine decided he meant it, and shot up a tree.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
A common rule of thumb is to keep that ratio below 30%, meaning your balance stays under 30% of your available credit.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Harvey II is offering personal memory, meaning it will remember, for example, a lawyer’s preferences for writing drafts, making and tracking changes to texts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Weber Pierson told the Times Monday that the amendments intended to help Midway Rising “haven’t crossed” the desk, meaning that the language hasn’t been inserted into Senate Bill 344.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
All three cheeses contained bacteria with recognized probiotic potential, meaning they may help support populations of beneficial microbes in the gut.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
But the cub picked up his meaning well enough.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Vocabulary lists containing mean
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Psychology
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