Means Miːnz Effective Live Communication Identification Achieving Money

• television is an effective means of communication.
• is there any means of contacting him?
• have you any means of identification?
• we needed to get to london but we had no means of transport.

means

1. an action, an object or a system by which a result is achieved; a way of achieving or doing something
• Television is an effective means of communication.
• Is there any means of contacting him?
• Have you any means of identification?
• We needed to get to London but we had no means of transport.
2. the money that a person has
• People should pay according to their means.
• He doesn't have the means to support a wife and child.
• Private school fees are beyond the means of most people(= more than they can afford).
• Are the monthly repayments within your means (= can you afford them)?
• Try to live within your means(= not spend more money than you have).
• a man of means (= a rich man)
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
8. a thing or 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.
9. the methods and materials available for doing something
• ways and means of raising money

Extra Examples

• Eligibility for the benefit was determined by a means test.
• Gold has been the preferred means of exchange for centuries.
• He saw his education merely as a means to an end.
• In the case of torture, the end can never justify the means.
• Infringement of copyright includes distribution by electronic means.
• My English teacher provided me with the means to enjoy reading poetry.
• Oil lamps were the sole means of illumination.
• Painting had become his primary means of self-expression.
• Private school fees are beyond the means of most people.
• She finds it difficult to live within her means.
• She must have independent means to live in such style.
• The stone was lifted by means of a rope and pulley.
• There are ways and means of raising money.
• They cannot achieve their goal through legal means.
• War is famously ‘the continuation of policy by other means’.
• We have no means of knowing how they will react.
• We will use every possible means to achieve our objective.
• a means of access/communication/transport
• a means of getting what you want
• an effective means of mass communication
• people who lack visible means of support
• the means for achieving happiness
• Do you have any means of identification?
• He did not have the means to support a family.
• I don’t believe that in this case the means justified the end.
• People should pay according to their means.
• TV is a highly effective means of communication.
• The study aims to provide a means of testing the theory.
• Try to live within your means.
• We must look for an alternative means of escape.
• We will use whatever means are necessary.
• What means of transport did they use?
• a man/woman of means

Word Origin

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