Word of the Day: Mean
The word “mean” has many different meanings, depending on the situation. The most important thing for you as a student of English to know is that we use the word “mean” when we want the definition of a word. Look at these examples:
- What does “awful” mean?
- Do you know what this word means?
- I don’t know what this means.
- Do you understand what this sentence means?
- What did she really mean when she said that she was disappointed?
Sometimes my students will ask the question like this:
What means this word?(This is not correct!)
When you want to know the definition or meaning for a particular word, ask the question like this:
- What does “________” mean?
- What does “endeavor” mean?
- What does “raunchy” mean?
The teacher or whoever answers the questions then says this:
- The word “endeavor” means to try hard to do something.
- The word “raunchy” means that something is kind of dirty or a person’s behavior is vulgar.
The word “meaning” is a noun:
- What’s the meaning of this word?
- Do you know the meaning of the word “endeavor.”
- You can use a dictionary or a thesaurus to find the meaning.
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with M page to see the list of all words starting with letter M. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
