mean
mean1 / mēn/ • v. (past and past part. meant / ment/ ) [tr.] 1. intend to convey, indicate, or refer to (a particular thing or notion); signify: I don't know what you mean he was asked to clarify what his remarks meant I meant you, not Jones. ∎ (of a word) have (something) as its signification in the same language or its equivalent in another language: its name means “painted rock” in Cherokee. ∎ genuinely intend to convey or express (something): when she said that before, she meant it. ∎ (mean something to) be of some specified importance to (someone), esp. as a source of benefit or object of affection: animals have always meant more to him than people.2. intend (something) to occur or be the case: they mean no harm | it was meant to be a secret. ∎ (be meant to do something) be supposed or intended to do something: we were meant to go over yesterday. ∎ (often be meant for) design or destine for a particular purpose: the jacket was meant for a much larger person. ∎ (mean something by) have as a motive or excuse in explanation: what do you mean by leaving me out here in the cold?3. have as a consequence or result: the proposals are likely to mean another hundred closures | heavy rain meant that the ground was waterlogged. ∎ necessarily or usually entail or involve: coal stoves mean a lot of smoke.PHRASES: I mean used to clarify or correct a statement or to introduce a justification or explanation: I mean, it's not as if I owned property.mean business be in earnest.mean to say [usu. in questions] really admit or intend to say: do you mean to say you've uncovered something new?mean well have good intentions, but not always the ability to carry them out.ORIGIN: Old English mænan; related to Dutch meenen and German meinen, from an Indo-European root shared by mind.mean2 • adj. 1. unwilling to give or share things, esp. money; not generous: she felt mean not giving a tip they're not mean with the garlic.2. unkind, spiteful, or unfair: it was very mean of me she is always mean to my little brother. ∎ vicious or aggressive in behavior: the dogs were considered mean.3. (esp. of a place) poor in quality and appearance; shabby: her home was mean and small. ∎ (of a person's mental capacity or understanding) inferior; poor: it was obvious to even the meanest intelligence. ∎ dated of low birth or social class: it was a hat like that worn by the meanest of people.4. inf. excellent; very skillful or effective: he's a mean cook she dances a mean Charleston.PHRASES: no mean —— denoting something very good of its kind: it was no mean feat.DERIVATIVES: mean·ly adv.mean·ness n.mean3 • n. 1. the quotient of the sum of several quantities and their number; an average: acid output was calculated by taking the mean of all three samples.See also arithmetic mean, geometric mean. ∎ the term or one of the terms midway between the first and last terms of a progression.2. a condition, quality, or course of action equally removed from two opposite (usually unsatisfactory) extremes: the mean between two extremes.• adj. 1. (of a quantity) calculated as a mean; average: by 1989, the mean age at marriage stood at 24.8 for women and 26.9 for men.2. equally far from two extremes: hope is the mean virtue between despair and presumption.
mean
Mean
Mean
The sum of the values of the points in a data set divided by the number of points.
EXAMPLE
HEIGHTS IN CENTIMETERS OF FIFTEEN CHILDREN ARE:
124, 137, 144, 136, 157, 129, 130, 131, 125, 128, 133, 133, 129
Sum equals 1995; divide by 15 to get the mean of 133.
In statistics, the mean refers to the value that results when all the scores in a data set are added together and the total is divided by the number of scores in the data set. In the example, the mean for a set of fifteen data points is calculated. The mean balances the scores on either side of it. Also called the arithmetic mean or average, the mean is one of the measures of central tendency; the others being the median and the mode .
Further Reading
Peavy, J. Virgil. Descriptive Statistics: Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services/Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, 1981.
Mean
Mean
The mean of a set of numbers, x1, x2, xn is defined as (x1+ x2 ... + xn) ÷ n. Thus the mean of 2, 3, 7, and 5 is (2 + 3 + 7 + 5) ÷ 4 = 17 ÷ 4.
The mean is also known as the average. It is one of the measures of central tendency, the others being the mode and median.
mean
Hence meantime adv. XVI; meanwhile adv. XV; reduction of adv. phr. in the m. time and m. while (XIV).
mean
Hence meaning intention, signification. XIV.
mean
mean
Mean
Mean
The mean of a set of numbers, x1, x2,.xn is defined to be (x1 + x2...+ xn) ÷ 4n. Thus the mean of 2, 3, 7, and 5 is (2 + 3 + 7 + 5) ÷ 4 = 17 ÷ 4.
The mean is also known as the average. It is one of the measures of central tendency, the others being the mode and median .