Means Miːnz Money Effective Communication Achieve End Methods

• email is a highly effective means of communication.
• the state is in control of the means of production.
• we needed to get to london but we had no means of transport.
• have you any means of identification?

means

1. an action, an object or a system by which a result is achieved; a way of achieving or doing something
• Email is a highly effective means of communication.
• The state is in control of the means of production.
• We needed to get to London but we had no means of transport.
• Have you any means of identification?
• Is there any means of contacting him?
• Interest rates are used as a means of controlling borrowing.
• They are using peaceful means to achieve their aims.
• Music is the best means we have to reach a wide audience.
• Equality is an end in itself, not just a means to a goal.
• This weed can be controlled by various means.

Extra Examples

• The nations tried to solve their differences by peaceful means.
• Fishing is their only means of livelihood.
• We will use whatever means are necessary.
• Infringement of copyright includes distribution by electronic means.
• They cannot achieve their goal through legal means.
• War is famously ‘the continuation of policy by other means’.
• We will use every possible means to achieve our objective.
• Gold has been the preferred means of exchange for centuries.
• Oil lamps were the sole means of illumination.
• Painting had become his primary means of self-expression.
• We must look for an alternative means of escape.
• We have no means of knowing how they will react.
• The study aims to provide a means of testing the theory.
• Television is an effective means of communication.
• My English teacher provided me with the means to enjoy reading poetry.
2. the money that a person has
• a man of means (= a rich man)
• People should pay according to their means.
• Are the monthly repayments within your means (= can you afford them)?
• Try to live within your means (= not spend more money than you have).
• Private school fees are beyond the means of most people (= more than they can afford).
• He doesn't have the means to support a wife and child.
• She must have independent means (= money that she did not earn) to live in such style.
3. used to say that you are very willing for somebody to have something or do something
• ‘Do you mind if I have a look?’ ‘By all means.’
4. using dishonest methods if honest ones do not work
• She’s determined to win, by fair means or foul.
5. with the help of something
• The load was lifted by means of a crane.
6. not at all
• She is by no means an inexperienced teacher.
• We haven't won yet, not by any means.
7. bad or unfair methods of doing something are acceptable if the result of that action is good or positive
• He defended a morality in which the end justifies the means.
• That's only OK if you believe that the end justifies the means.
8. a thing or an action that is not interesting or important in itself but is a way of achieving something else
• He doesn't particularly like the work but he sees it as a means to an end.
• I don't enjoy studying computing—it's just a means to an end.
9. the methods and materials available for doing something
• ways and means of raising money
• Newspapers have ways and means of getting hold of secret information.

Word Origin

• late Middle English: plural of mean (noun), the early sense being ‘intermediary’.