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Definition 2024


of_means

of means

English

Prepositional phrase

of means

  1. (of a person) Possessing significant wealth, especially as suggesting social standing.
    • 1896, H. G. Wells, The Wheels of Chance, ch. 29:
      He seemed a person of means and leisure, but he knew nothing of recent concerts, theatres, or books.
    • 1915, Anna Katharine Green, The Golden Slipper, Problem 7:
      The reward offered by Mrs. Hasbrouck for the detection of the murderer was a very large one. She is a woman of means.
    • 2007, Richard Corliss, "When Antonioni Blew Up the Movies," Time, 5 Aug. :
      Rich and pretty, he shows how meaningless it is to be a man of means. He in incapacitated by wealth, status and the availability of sex with good-looking people.

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