The difference between Dirty and Mean

When used as verbs, dirty means to make (something) dirty, whereas mean means to intend, to plan (to do).

When used as adjectives, dirty means unclean, whereas mean means common.

Dirty is also adverb with the meaning: in a dirty manner.

Mean is also noun with the meaning: a method or course of action used to achieve some result.

check bellow for the other definitions of Dirty and Mean

  1. Dirty as an adjective:

    Unclean; covered with or containing unpleasant substances such as dirt or grime.

    Examples:

    "Despite a walk in the rain, my shoes weren't too dirty."

  2. Dirty as an adjective:

    That makes one unclean; corrupting, infecting.

    Examples:

    "Don't put that in your mouth, dear. It's dirty."

  3. Dirty as an adjective:

    Morally unclean; obscene or indecent, especially sexually.

    Examples:

    "At the reception, Uncle Nick got drunk and told dirty jokes to the bridesmaids."

  4. Dirty as an adjective:

    Dishonourable; violating accepted standards or rules.

    Examples:

    "He might have scored, but it was a dirty trick that won him the penalty."

  5. Dirty as an adjective:

    Corrupt, illegal, or improper.

    Examples:

    "I won't accept your dirty money!"

  6. Dirty as an adjective:

    Out of tune.

    Examples:

    "You need to tune that guitar: the G string sounds dirty."

  7. Dirty as an adjective:

    Of color, discolored by impurities.

    Examples:

    "The old flag was a dirty white."

  8. Dirty as an adjective (computing):

    Containing data needing to be written back to memory or disk.

    Examples:

    "Occasionally it reads the sector into a dirty buffer, which means it needs to sync the dirty buffer first."

  9. Dirty as an adjective (slang):

    Carrying illegal drugs among one's possessions or inside of one's bloodstream.

    Examples:

    "None of y'all get into my car if you're dirty."

  10. Dirty as an adjective (informal):

    Examples:

    "He lives in a dirty great mansion."

  11. Dirty as an adjective:

    Sleety; gusty; stormy.

    Examples:

    "'dirty weather"

  1. Dirty as an adverb:

    In a dirty manner.

    Examples:

    "to play dirty'"

  1. Dirty as a verb (transitive):

    To make (something) dirty.

  2. Dirty as a verb (transitive):

    To stain or tarnish (somebody) with dishonor.

  3. Dirty as a verb (transitive):

    To debase by distorting the real nature of (something).

  4. Dirty as a verb (intransitive):

    To become soiled.

  1. Mean as a verb (transitive):

    To intend. To intend, to plan (to do); to have as one's intention. To have intentions of a given kind. To intend (something) for a given purpose or fate; to predestine.

    Examples:

    "I didn't mean to knock your tooth out."

    "I mean to go to Baddeck this summer."

    "I meant to take the car in for a smog check, but it slipped my mind."

    "Don't be angry; she meant well."

    "Actually this desk was meant for the subeditor."

    "Man was not meant to question such things."

  2. Mean as a verb (transitive):

    To convey meaning. To convey (a given sense); to signify, or indicate (an object or idea). Of a word, symbol etc: to have reference to, to signify. Of a person (or animal etc): to intend to express, to imply, to hint at, to allude.

    Examples:

    "The sky is red this morning—does that mean we're in for a storm?"

    "What does this hieroglyph mean?"

    "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

    "He is a little different, [[if you know what I mean if you know what I mean]]."

  3. Mean as a verb (transitive):

    To have conviction in (something said or expressed); to be sincere in (what one says).

    Examples:

    "Does she really mean what she said to him last night?"

    "Say what you mean and mean what you say."

  4. Mean as a verb (transitive):

    To result in; to bring about.

    Examples:

    "One faltering step means certain death."

  5. Mean as a verb (transitive):

    To be important (to).

    Examples:

    "My home life means a lot to me."

  1. Mean as a verb (Ireland, UK, _, regional):

    To lament.

  1. Mean as an adjective (obsolete):

    Common; general.

  2. Mean as an adjective:

    Of a common or low origin, grade, or quality; common; humble.

    Examples:

    "a man of mean parentage / a mean abode"

  3. Mean as an adjective:

    Low in quality or degree; inferior; poor; shabby.

    Examples:

    "a mean appearance / mean dress"

  4. Mean as an adjective:

    Without dignity of mind; destitute of honour; low-minded; spiritless; base.

    Examples:

    "a mean motive"

  5. Mean as an adjective:

    Of little value or account; worthy of little or no regard; contemptible; despicable.

  6. Mean as an adjective (chiefly, UK):

    Ungenerous; stingy; tight-fisted.

    Examples:

    "He's so mean. I've never seen him spend so much as five pounds on presents for his children."

  7. Mean as an adjective:

    Disobliging; pettily offensive or unaccommodating; small.

  8. Mean as an adjective:

    Selfish; acting without consideration of others; unkind.

    Examples:

    "It was mean to steal the girl's piggy bank, but he just ''had'' to get uptown and he had no cash of his own."

  9. Mean as an adjective:

    Causing or intending to cause intentional harm; bearing ill will towards another; cruel; malicious.

    Examples:

    "Watch out for her, she's mean. I said good morning to her, and she punched me in the nose."

  10. Mean as an adjective:

    Powerful; fierce; harsh; damaging.

    Examples:

    "It must have been a mean typhoon that levelled this town."

  11. Mean as an adjective:

    Accomplished with great skill; deft; hard to compete with.

    Examples:

    "Your mother can roll a mean cigarette."

    "He hits a mean backhand."

  12. Mean as an adjective (informal, often, childish):

    Difficult, tricky.

    Examples:

    "This problem is mean!"

  1. Mean as an adjective:

    Having the mean (see noun below) as its value.

  2. Mean as an adjective (obsolete):

    Middling; intermediate; moderately good, tolerable.

  1. Mean as a noun (now, chiefly, in the plural):

    A method or course of action used to achieve some result.

  2. Mean as a noun (obsolete, in the singular):

    An intermediate step or intermediate steps.

  3. Mean as a noun:

    Something which is intermediate or in the middle; an intermediate value or range of values; a medium.

  4. Mean as a noun (music, now, historical):

    The middle part of three-part polyphonic music; now specifically, the alto part in polyphonic music; an alto instrument.

  5. Mean as a noun (statistics):

    The average of a set of values, calculated by summing them together and dividing by the number of terms; the arithmetic mean.

  6. Mean as a noun (mathematics):

    Any function of multiple variables that satisfies certain properties and yields a number representative of its arguments; or, the number so yielded; a measure of central tendency.

  7. Mean as a noun (mathematics):

    Either of the two numbers in the middle of a conventionally presented proportion, as 2 and 3 in 1:2=3:6.

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