a mean to an end vs a means to an end

Both phrases are correct, but "a means to an end" is the more commonly used and accepted version. The phrase means a method or way to achieve a goal or desired outcome.

Last updated: April 08, 2024 • 265 views

This phrase is less common and not the standard expression used in English.

"a mean to an end"

This phrase is a variation of the correct phrase "a means to an end." It conveys the idea of using something as a method to achieve a goal or desired outcome.

Show examples from the web [+]

a mean to an end
Nature is a mean to an end.
It is a means to an end, and...
Neolution is a means to an end.
A means to an end fear cannot be.
This is all just a means to an end.
Everything is a means to an end, Dr Brennan.
You were a means to an end.
A means to an end only.
Eddie is just a means to an end.
Killing is a means to an end, my brother.
Everyone is interchangeable, a means to an end.
All the torture could simply be a means to an end.
Mother is a means to an end.
Only because I was a means to an end.
Being his PPS is just a means to an end.
Human beings must never be a means to an end.
I was making my family a means to an end.
This job is a means to an end for me.
I want to love and celebrate fiction for what it is, not as a means to an end.
She's a means to an end, that is all.

Alternatives:

a means to an end

This is the standard and more commonly used expression in English.

"a means to an end"

This phrase means a method or way to achieve a goal or desired outcome. It is the correct and widely accepted version of the expression.

Show examples from the web [+]

Neolution is a means to an end.
Everything is a means to an end, Dr Brennan.
The Unsullied are a means to an end.
Being his PPS is just a means to an end.
I was making my family a means to an end.
You needed me out of the way, and since my wings ruined your kidnapping plan, it seems I was a means to an end.
It's a means to an end.
It's a means to an end.
Remaining independent from recognizable visual references allows, instead, a Genesis-like prophecy of reality, not a means to an end.
Cliff is a means to an end.
You were only ever a means to an end.
Thus, in Mariscotti's work, change is not a means to an end, but the inevitable reality.
Look, Maze, that whole thing with Los Xs, that was just a means to an end.
Not a lie, a... a leavening, a means to an end.
Family means nothing to you, except a means to an end.
Curtain rods used to be a means to an end: hardware items that were only seen during installation, purposely made invisible in order to showcase the curtains or draperies they held.
After all, you pointed out that reason is just a means to an end, and the end depends on the reasoner's passions.
However, not only is there no promise of eternal life in Genesis 2:17, this system also presents the pre-fall covenant as merely a means to an end.
This is all just a means to an end.
You were a means to an end.

Alternatives:

a mean to an end

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a mean to an end vs a means to an end

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