Meaning & use
mean game
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Meanings
nouncountableinformalsport
A very good or impressive performance in a sport or competitive activity (informal).
Grammar: Often used with 'have' or 'play': He has a mean game.
Patterns
- have a mean game
- play a mean game
She has a mean game of tennis.
He played a mean game of chess and won easily.
nouncountable
An unkind or spiteful trick or activity intended to hurt someone.
Grammar: Used when 'mean' means unkind: That was a mean game to play on your sister.
Patterns
- play a mean game
- a mean game to play on someone
Hiding her keys was a mean game, and she was late for work.
The older kids played a mean game on the new student.
Word forms
| plural | mean games |
|---|
Common combinations
- have a mean game
- She has a mean game of basketball.
- play a mean game
- He can play a mean game of poker.
- a mean game of tennis
- They enjoyed a mean game of tennis on Saturday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- strong game
- Strong game means a powerful performance; mean game is more informal and can imply surprising skill.
- nasty trick
- Nasty trick is a clearer phrase for the unkind sense; mean game is less direct.
Word family
Commonly confused: mean game or mean game?
mean game vs mean game
Not to be confused with 'main game', which means the most important event or match.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'mean game' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 uses 'mean game' informally to mean an impressive performance. Option 1 confuses it with a statistical average, option 2 uses 'means' as a verb, and option 3 contradicts the meaning of 'mean game' as exciting or skillful.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mean game”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.