means

/minz/

/minz/

Someone who has wealth beyond the average person is said to be a person of means. Means can also mean the way something happens. You should try to resolve your fight with your brother through peaceful means––noogies are so undignified.

The expression "the end justifies the means" is an example of this usage — basically, you are saying that even if the method used to get the result was bad, the result was good enough to make it okay. The tools needed to do something can also be called the means. You don't have the means to make an art project if you need paint and feathers and you have neither.

Definitions of means

1. noun

   how a result is obtained or an end is achieved
   “a means of control”

   synonyms: agency, way

   types:

   dint

   force or effort; interchangeable with 'means' in the expression 'by means of'

   escape

   a means or way of escaping

   fast track

   a rapid means of achieving a goal

   instrument, tool

   the means whereby some act is accomplished

   road

   a way or means to achieve something

   stepping stone

   any means of advancement

   expedient

   a means to an end; not necessarily a principled or ethical one

   desperate measure

   desperate actions taken as a means to an end

   open sesame

   any very successful means of achieving a result

   salvation

   a means of preserving from harm or unpleasantness

   tooth

   a means of enforcement

   voice

   a means or agency by which something is expressed or communicated

   wings

   a means of flight or ascent

   royal road

   an auspicious way or means to achieve something

   make-do, makeshift, stopgap

   something contrived to meet an urgent need or emergency

   crutch

   anything that serves as an expedient

   improvisation, temporary expedient

   an unplanned expedient

   last resort, pis aller

   an expedient adopted only in desperation

   type of:

   effectuation, implementation

   the act of implementing (providing a practical means for accomplishing something); carrying into effect
2. noun

   an instrumentality for accomplishing some end
   type of:

   instrumentality, instrumentation

   an artifact (or system of artifacts) that is instrumental in accomplishing some end
3. noun

   considerable capital (wealth or income)
   “he is a man of means”

   synonyms: substance

   types:

   pocketbook

   your personal financial means

   wherewithal

   the necessary means (especially financial means)

   type of:

   capital

   wealth in the form of money or property owned by a person or business and human resources of economic value