mean in the Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary

Translations for mean in the English»French Dictionary

I.mean [Brit miːn, Am min] N

1. mean (gen) MATH:

mean

moyenne f

above/below the mean

au-dessus/en dessous de la moyenne

2. mean (middle point):

mean fig

milieu m

II.mean [Brit miːn, Am min] ADJ

1. mean (average):

mean weight, temperature, age

moyen/-enne

2. mean (ungenerous):

mean person

avare

mean person

radin inf

mean attitude, nature

mesquin

mean examiner

sévère

to be mean with portion, quantity

être avare sur

he's mean with his money

il est avare

3. mean (unkind):

mean person, action

méchant

to be mean to sb

être méchant avec qn

to be mean about appearance, performance

faire des remarques désobligeantes sur

it is/was mean of you to do

ce n'est pas chic de ta part de faire/d'avoir fait

to feel mean for or about doing

avoir un peu honte de faire

a mean trick

une sale tour

4. mean (vicious):

mean animal, person, expression

méchant

that man/dog has got a mean streak

cet homme/ce chien a la méchanceté en lui

5. mean (tough):

the mean streets of New York

les quartiers durs de New York inf

he's a mean character

c'est un sale type inf

6. mean (skilful) inf:

mean cook, cocktail

formidable, du tonnerre inf

after n she makes a mean margarita

elle fait un margarita du tonnerre inf

she plays a mean game of tennis/chess

elle touche sa bille au tennis/aux échecs inf

you're no mean artist/poker player!

tu es un sacré artiste/joueur de poker! inf

7. mean (small) inf:

to have no mean opinion of oneself

avoir une haute opinion de soi-même

that's no mean feat!

ce n'est pas un mince exploit!

8. mean (lowly) liter:

mean dwelling

misérable

mean birth

bas/basse

mean origin

modeste

9. mean Am (off colour) inf:

to feel mean

ne pas être dans son assiette inf

III.mean <pret, pp meant> [Brit miːn, Am min] VB trans

1. mean (signify):

mean word, symbol, phrase:

signifier, vouloir dire (that que)

mean sign:

vouloir dire

what does this word/symbol mean?

que signifie ce mot/symbole?

the name/word means nothing to me

ce nom/mot ne me dit rien

does the term mean anything to him?

est-ce que le terme lui dit quelque chose?

2. mean (intend):

to mean to do

avoir l'intention de faire

to mean sb to do Brit, to mean for sb to do Am

vouloir que qn fasse

to be meant for sb question, bomb:

être destiné à qn

I meant it as a joke/a compliment

c'était une blague/un compliment de ma part

he doesn't mean you any harm

il ne te veut aucun mal

what do you mean by opening my letters?

qu'est-ce qui te prend d'ouvrir mon courrier?

to mean well

avoir de bonnes intentions (by sb à l'égard de qn)

he means trouble or mischief

il a de mauvaises intentions

she means business

elle ne plaisante pas

he means what he says (he is sincere)

il est sérieux

he means what he says (he is menacing)

il ne plaisante pas

she meant no offence

elle n'y entendait pas malice

I didn't mean to do it

je ne l'ai pas fait exprès

I didn't mean anything by it

je n'avais aucune arrière-pensée

without meaning to

par inadvertance

my remark offended you? it was meant to!

ma remarque t'a vexé? c'était voulu!

3. mean (entail):

mean strike, law: shortages, changes

entraîner

mean budget: tax cuts

signifier

his death/the accident means doing

à cause de sa mort/l'accident il faut faire

4. mean (intend to say):

mean

vouloir dire

do you mean Paul Rose?

tu veux dire Paul Rose?

what do you mean by that remark?

qu'est-ce que tu veux dire par là?

do you mean me?

c'est de moi que tu parles?

I mean to say, who wants a car that won't start?

non mais, qui voudrait d'une voiture qui ne démarre pas?

I know what you mean

je comprends

5. mean (be of value):

a promise/designer label means nothing

une promesse/marque ne veut pas dire grand-chose

she means everything/nothing to me

elle est tout/n'est rien pour moi

money means everything/nothing to them

l'argent représente tout/ne représente rien pour eux

money means a lot to him

l'argent compte beaucoup pour lui

your friendship means a lot to me

ton amitié est très importante pour moi

what it means to live in a democracy!

quelle belle chose que de vivre dans une démocratie!

6. mean (be destined) tjrs au passif:

to be meant to do

être destiné à faire

she was meant to be/become a doctor

elle était destinée à être/devenir médecin

it was meant to be or happen

cela devait arriver

they were meant for each other

ils étaient faits l'un pour l'autre

I was meant for better things

j'étais appelé à un destin meilleur

7. mean (be supposed to be) tjrs au passif:

he's/you're etc meant to be impartial, sad

il est/tu es etc censé être

I'm/you're etc meant to be doing

je suis/tu es etc censé faire

golden mean N

1. golden mean (happy medium):

the golden mean

le juste milieu

2. golden mean ART → golden section

See also golden section

golden section N

golden section

section f dorée

mean-minded [ˌmiːnˈmaɪndɪd] ADJ

mean-minded

malintentionné

arithmetic mean N

arithmetic mean

moyenne f arithmétique

mean-spirited ADJ

mean-spirited

petit, mesquin

mean-looking [Brit ˈmiːnlʊkɪŋ] ADJ

1. mean-looking (vicious):

mean-looking dog, man

méchant

2. mean-looking (impressive) hum:

mean-looking drink

géant

3. mean-looking (trendy) inf:

mean-looking jacket

d'enfer inf

Greenwich Mean Time, GMT [Brit ɡrɛnɪtʃˈmiːntʌɪm, Am ˌɡrɛnɪtʃ ˈmin ˌtaɪm] N

Greenwich Mean Time

temps m universel, TU

Translations for mean in the French»English Dictionary

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

vachard (vacharde)

mean, nasty

mesquinerie (action)

mean trick

mesquinerie (remarque)

mean remark ou comment

mesquin (mesquine) personne

mean-minded, petty-minded

mesquin (mesquine) personne

mean Brit

mean in the PONS Dictionary

Translations for mean in the English»French Dictionary

mean¹ [mi:n] ADJ

1. mean (miserly):

mean

avare

to be mean with sth

être avare de qc

2. mean (unkind, aggressive):

mean

méchant(e)

to be mean to sb

être méchant envers qn

to have a mean streak

avoir un côté mauvais

to play a mean trick on sb

jouer un sale tour à qn

3. mean (wretched):

mean

misérable

the mean streets

les bas quartiers

4. mean fig (poor):

mean

pauvre

5. mean inf (excellent):

mean

excellent(e)

Phrases:

to be no mean feat

ne pas être une mince affaire

mean² <meant, meant> [mi:n] VB trans

1. mean (express meaning):

mean

signifier

it means "hello" in Arabic

ça veut dire "salut" en arabe

what do you mean by that?

qu'est-ce que tu veux dire?

I mean that

je suis sérieux

I mean (to say)

vraiment

2. mean (refer to):

mean

parler de

do you mean me?

tu veux dire moi?

3. mean (result in):

mean

impliquer

that means we'll have to start again

ce qui veut dire qu'il faut recommencer

this means war

c'est la guerre

4. mean (have significance):

it means a lot to me

c'est important pour moi

5. mean (intend, suppose):

to mean to +infin

avoir l'intention de +infin

I didn't mean to upset you

je ne voulais pas te faire de peine

to be meant to be sth

être destiné à qc

to be meant for sb money, letter

être destiné à qn

to be meant for sb person

être fait pour qn

you were mean to be here

tu étais supposé être là

to mean well

avoir de bonnes intentions

I.mean³ [mi:n] N

1. mean (middle):

mean

milieu m

2. mean MATH:

mean

moyenne f

II.mean³ [mi:n] ADJ

mean

moyen(ne)

golden mean N no pl

golden mean

juste m milieu

Greenwich Mean Time N

Greenwich Mean Time

temps m universel

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

deviation from the mean

divergence f

Translations for mean in the French»English Dictionary

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

mesquin(e) pensée, milieu

mean-minded

mesquin(e)

mean

ça fait mesquin

that looks mean

étriqué(e) esprit

mean

avec mesquinerie

mean-mindedly

signifier

to mean

qu'est-ce que cela signifie?

what does that mean?

qu'est-ce que ça signifie?

what's that supposed to mean?

mean Examples from the PONS Dictionary (editorially verified)

I took him to mean tomorrow

j'avais compris qu'il voulait dire demain

what does he mean by that?

que veut-il dire par là?

to play a mean trick on sb

jouer un sale tour à qn

I didn't mean to upset you

je ne voulais pas te faire de peine

to mean (all) the world to sb

être tout pour qn

if you know what I mean

si tu vois/vous voyez ce que je veux dire

I mean that she's done it

je veux dire qu'elle l'a fait

I didn't mean to irritate you

je ne voulais pas vous irriter

what's all this nonsense supposed to mean?

à quoi riment ces excentricités?

what do you mean by that?

qu'est-ce que vous entendez par là?

Monolingual examples (not verified by PONS Editors)

English

Sometimes, mixed constitutions evolved with a democratic element, but it definitely did not mean self-rule by citizens.

en.wikipedia.org

Probably the best known weighted mean is the weighted arithmetic mean, usually simply called the weighted mean.

en.wikipedia.org

Thus, programmable matter has come to mean any bulk substance which can be programmed to change its physical properties.

en.wikipedia.org

Any triangle, in which the altitude equals the geometric mean of the two line segments created by it, is a right triangle.

en.wikipedia.org

I mean, it's astroblastoma glioma, which is a terrible, terrible thing.

www.npr.org

This does not mean that all followers of meritocracy believe that a person in poverty deserves their low standard of living.

en.wikipedia.org

This does not mean that the territory has no government at all or that it is unclaimed territory.

en.wikipedia.org

Later dishonest jewellers passed pinchbeck off as gold; over the years it came to mean a cheap and tawdry imitation of gold.

en.wikipedia.org

At early 2007 gasoline and electricity prices, that would mean a break-even point after six to ten years of operation.

en.wikipedia.org

That doesn't mean you have to chop up a whole chicken.

www.npr.org