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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The restrictions mean, from Thursday, hosepipes should not be used for watering gardens or allotments, cleaning cars, filling paddling pools or swimming pools, or cleaning windows.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
And that could mean investors and creditors that are banking on the survival of these contracts will be in for a nasty surprise if the AI boom fades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
That doesn’t mean these companies aren’t potentially exceptional businesses that could, over time, achieve success comparable to an Alphabet or an Amazon.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
What does it mean for you to be breaking down barriers for reggaeton Mexa?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
‘I mean, it could be a lynx, Or a wolverine.’
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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After decades of urging families to communicate better and work on their issues together, some therapists are now taking an opposite tack: They’re encouraging estrangement as a means of self-care.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
As a means of crowd control, the National Park Service has attempted to funnel people out of the valley, where the majority of tourists spend their time and into its less frequented locations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
"I can go live whenever I want...which means it works absolutely perfectly for me as a Mum. I can put my daughter to sleep and I can just hit go live and do some sales."
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
None of this means you avoid these stocks.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Many of them aren’t sure what that means.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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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
The meaner the Pistons get, the more their record improves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
In turn, increased efficiency allows them to be meaner toward prospective employees.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 7, 2026
Can Nvidia can maintain its edge in the face of leaner, meaner competition from abroad?
From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2025
Also, hornets, at least the way Colin figured it, are meaner.
From "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green
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"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
So, whenever my phone lights up, I can trust that I’m about to read the meanest, funniest joke imaginable about, like, Marco Rubio.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2025
Inter Milan had the meanest defence, conceding just one goal, against Bayer Leverkusen on matchday six.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2025
She gave him the meanest look she was capable of.
From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
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Chinese diplomats told me the staging wasn’t meant to belittle Putin, noting that the two figures occupy roughly equal portions of the picture’s frame.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Matthew O'Brien of NRW's reservoir safety group said the Reservoirs Act 1975, meant owners were responsible "for ensuring their reservoirs are properly maintained and managed".
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
“They knew he meant he was bringing someone.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
According to folks online, the final treat is meant to taste like cookie dough — but healthier.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
For while it meant that the deadline for deciding Gingersnipes’s fate was nearing, it also meant that his connection with the Afterlife was still intact.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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High pressure stays in charge for the rest of this week, meaning no significant rainfall for at least the next five days.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
The funds in an HSA are portable — meaning they stay with you no matter where you work — and can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Marchion won the house in June at a “sight unseen” foreclosure auction, meaning bidders weren’t able to tour inside beforehand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Today, around 9.5 million people — 1 in 5 federal student loan borrowers — are in default, meaning they are more than nine months behind on their payments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
It was such a strange little soliloquy, but I could feel her sincerity, her meaning, her gratitude.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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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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