Definition of "mean" []

• To be used to convey; denote: "'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different things'” ( Lewis Carroll). (verb-transitive)
• To act as a symbol of; signify or represent: In this poem, the budding flower means youth. (verb-transitive)
• To intend to convey or indicate: "No one means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous” ( Henry Adams). (verb-transitive)
• To have as a purpose or an intention; intend: I meant to go running this morning, but I overslept. (verb-transitive)
• To design, intend, or destine for a certain purpose or end: a building that was meant for storage; a student who was meant to be a scientist. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "There's an underlying assumption, I think, that his words didn't mean anything (because the Clinton's words don't really * mean* anything - they just affect outcomes)."
• ""And you realise that I mean it, _mean_ it, with every fibre of me.""
• ""Oh, you were mean -- _mean_ -- to shame me so," and floods of tears came again."