How do you spell the word meant

Spelling of Meant: Meant is spelled m-e-a-n-t.

Definition of Meant: Meant is the past tense and participle of the verb mean.

The verb mean is defined as to have in the mind as a purpose; to design for or destine to a specified purpose or future; to serve or intend to convey, show, or indicate; to have importance to the degree of; to direct to a particular individual.

Pronunciation of Meant: Meant is pronounced ment.

How to Use Meant in a Sentence

What does meant mean? Meant is the past tense and past participle form of the verb mean. Mean is the act of having a particular purpose or intention in mind, or, designing something or saying something for a specific purpose or reason or person.

While meant is the past tense, though it can be used in sentences in which the future tense is used.

For example,

• I meant what I said yesterday.
• What I meant was it’s better for you if you tell her the truth.
• That letter was not meant for you.
• If it’s meant to be, it will be.
• Before you explained the meaning, I never understood what that saying meant.
• This word now means something entirely different than what it meant in Shakespeare’s day.

Phrases & Idioms That Use Meant

Mean business: to be serious and/or diligent.

• Now, people are realizing that, when he said he meant business, he wasn’t joking.

Mean well: to have good intentions; try to be helpful or kind.

• I know her constant corrections were annoying, but she meant well.

History & Etymology of Meant

Meant is the past tense and past participle of mean. Mean was first used before the 12th century, according to Merriam-Webster’s.

Mean comes from Middle English menen via Old English maenan, which is akin to Old High German meinen, meaning to have in mind.

Synonyms for Meant

Since meant is the past participle/tense, the synonyms listed here are for the present tense, mean. However, to form the past, simply add the appropriate suffix, which is usually “-ed”.

• Denote
• Express
• Intend
• Aim

Outside Examples of Meant

• Hackers hid malware in CCleaner, a popular app meant to clean out cookies and junk programs from Android phones and computers to make them run faster. – USA Today
• An order of very limp French fries that were meant to go with our entrees appeared with the appetizers. – Orange County Register

Summary

Meant is the past tense and past participle of the verb mean, which is used most commonly to denote intention, purpose, significance, or reason.

“Meant” and “Ment” sound the same. But are those words synonyms?

We want to know which is the correct spelling, when comparing “Meant” and “Ment”. We also want to know what they mean and which of those forms should be avoided. Let’s discover the proper way to use those words.

“Meant” and “Ment” aren’t synonyms, but are valid forms in the English language. “Meant” is the past simple and the past participle of the verb “Mean”. “Ment” is a suffix, that is used at the end of words to create nouns that indicate something is achieved or completed.

Take a look at some examples:

• Frankie ment to say something different. (incorrect)
• Frankie meant to say something different.

• Running a marathon is quite an achievement.
• Parents should keep the focus on their child’s development.

The first set of examples is about things that Frankie may or may not have intended to say. Maybe they “Meant” it, maybe they didn’t. The point is that “Ment” means nothing in that context and doesn’t work as a stand-alone word. Only “Meant” is acceptable here.

The second set of examples brings words that use the suffix “-Ment” to make sense and convey their meanings: “achievement” and “development”. There are many others, because “-Ment” is a suffix we use a lot. Now you know what it means and what’s its purpose.

Meant

“Meant” is the past tense and the past participle of the verb “Mean”, which is to express or represent something, such as an idea, thought, or fact. Whenever you need to refer to this concept in the past tense, you should use “Meant”.

The Cambridge Dictionary expands on the meaning of “Mean” and, consequently, the meaning of “Meant”: “to have a particular result, to intend”.

Take a look at some examples:

1. I hadn’t meant to say that and I want to apologize.
2. She meant well but her actions backfired.
3. I wasn’t meant to be here but I’m happy I am.
4. Laura said it meant nothing at all.
5. I think this isn’t what Howerd meant by his words.

Ment

“Ment’ isn’t a word, especially not an alternate form for the word “Meant”. But it’s a very important suffix in the English language, that indicates achievements or concrete things.

According to The Cambridge Dictionary, the suffix “-ment” is “used to form nouns that refer to an action or process, or its result”.

Let’s take a look at some examples that include words that contain the suffix “-ment”.

1. Do you know when the payment is due?
2. Wow, what an achievement!
3. This is a great disappointment, you know?
4. I need to speak to management about what happened today.
5. Don’t make any sudden movements.

Every sentence includes a word that contains the “-ment” suffix: “payment”, “achievement”, “disappointment”, etc. “-ment” doesn’t stand on its own as a word, but it plays a relevant part in the English language as a complement that allows for nouns to make sense and convey the correct meaning.

Which Is Used the Most?

We have a guess as to which one of those forms is used more often. But we are curious to see the graph anyways. Do you think people use more “Meant” or “Ment”?

 Take a look at the graph from Google Ngram Viewer below to find out.

“Meant” is the prevalent word, which is used much more often. The graph shows that this word has been increasing considerably in usage since 1980, which indicates that people are using it now even more than they used to use it before.

“Ment”, on the other hand, seems to be decreasing in use. We’re not sure, however, if the graph should be taken into consideration when evaluating the importance of the prefix “-Ment”.

Since the suffix “-ment” is always attached to another word, we think the graph may not be reflecting all instances in which “-ment” is used. Nevertheless, “Meant” is the form that appears more and that’s what counts for us here.

Final Thoughts

“Meant” and “Ment” are relevant forms in the English language, but have different meanings and purposes. “Meant” is simply the past simple and the past participle of the verb “Mean”. “Ment” is a suffix that, when attached to words, creates nouns that refer to things that are achieved or completed.