1
as in signifies
to communicate or convey (as an idea) to the mind
the national anthem means various things to various people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in matters
to be of importance
your presence at my graduation would mean a lot to me
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in intends
to have in mind as a purpose or goal
I mean to win this race
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in measure
an action planned or taken to achieve a desired result
won the competition by fair and honest means
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2
as in instrumentality
something used to achieve an end
the ends don't justify the means
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in wealth
the total of one's money and property
a woman of considerable means
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of means
David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026
The denial, if not overturned at the county level, means the school will have to shut down at the end of the school year.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026
For a tornado warning, that means there is imminent danger to life and property.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Mar. 2026
The reality of geography also means their recovery may take longer.
—Alaa Shahine Salha, semafor.com, 11 Mar. 2026
That means that while many consumers are hurt by high energy prices, some parts of the US economy benefit, including ones in the oil and natural gas industry and those who own shares in fossil fuel companies.
—Matt Egan, CNN Money, 10 Mar. 2026
That means returning to the motel and removing the feeding tube from her daughter's stomach.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Mar. 2026
That means there are no other doors along the way.
—Mike Toole, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2026
This means that, once encoded, the information could not be edited or reused, which limited it mainly to long-term archiving.
—Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 3 Mar. 2026
Miami Herald, 9 Mar. 2026
Trump has tried to continue his tariffs via other means, although his latest across-the-board 15% tariff is limited to 150 days unless Congress votes to extend it.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2026
Preventing plants from flowering and setting seed provides the best means of control.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 8 Mar. 2026
So, they are deprived of means of their influence.
—CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
Responding to those posts, Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia rebuked the notion of losing ever as an acceptable means of future success.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2026
Given that Friday Harbor is miles off the coast in the rugged San Juan Islands, driving here is arguably harder than arriving by any other means.
—Sarah Cahalan, Travel + Leisure, 7 Mar. 2026
This shift has prompted researchers to look more closely at what screen use means in the earliest years.
—Miriam Fauzia, Dallas Morning News, 2 Mar. 2026
The mere departure of cabinet secretaries does not wipe the slate clean by any means.
—Steve Arentz, Baltimore Sun, 2 Mar. 2026
Verb
Richard Bailey, a former mayor of Coronado who now lives in Point Loma, said the city’s nearly $8 billion backlog of infrastructure projects means bike lanes must be a low priority.
—Noun
Starting a garden means walking into a hardware store and facing walls of tools engineered to separate you from your cash.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for means
Verb
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The release signifies Sullivan couldn’t find a trade partner to offload Tagovailoa and his contract.—
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After all, when placed on a marquee, this punctuation mark signifies that a film will contain an exceptional array of excitement, thrills, and shock, heightening our expectations — as well as our disappointment when (as often happens) the hype isn’t delivered.—
Verb
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What matters is whether there are any other minima — any other stable configurations — that the Universe could possibly exist in.—
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That matters because each member of the Fed’s 12-person rate-setting committee has only one vote, so Warsh would need buy-in from a majority of his colleagues to lower rates.—
Verb
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Oncor Electric is requesting that the Fort Worth City Council approve the rezoning of a southeast Fort Worth lot containing a power substation that the utility company intends to expand and renovate, documents say.—
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The offensive fireworks may capture the spotlight, but if SDFC intends to compete on multiple fronts this season, its back line will determine how far this season’s early momentum carries.—
Verb
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Police radio traffic indicates officers were already racing toward the scene as calls flooded dispatch.—
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An evacuation order indicates an immediate threat to life.—
Noun
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In a statement, the family's attorney said that the lawsuit seeks justice for Jeffers while advocating for stronger security measures to prevent similar tragedies in the future.—
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Nineteen states have adopted similar legislation aimed at ending the twice-yearly clock change, but these measures cannot take effect without congressional action.—
Noun
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They are left wielding the tools of instrumentality: in-groups and cliques, buying effort through more money, coercive employment agreements and suits against whistleblowers.—
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Holding the weight of cotton’s influence on the world, and thus the instrumentality of Black labor, is painful, yet necessary work.—
Noun
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Van Hollen's plan would not raise as much as Sanders', but Van Hollen's is less likely to face constitutional challenges, as experts have long debated the legality of a national wealth tax.—
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Darius Anderson, a longtime lobbyist in the state Capitol who played a role in the 2013 effort to keep the Sacramento Kings from leaving the city, stands accused of fraud by his longtime business partner Ron Burkle, a grocery store magnate whose wealth is estimated to be in the billions.—
Verb
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As its name implies, CBS News 24/7 offers around-the-clock programming and airs hallmark series for CBS including 60 Minutes, 48 Hours and CBS Mornings.—
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However, rather than claiming that either mind or matter is more fundamental than the other, Irruption Theory proceeds by describing their causal relationship, which implies that both the mental and physical aspects of our being belong to the same fundamental reality.—
Cite this Entry
“Means.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/means. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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