ways and means
3
5.1
- noun
- Formal
:
medios
- In order to reduce the deficit, we must identify effective ways and means to increase revenue.
- devise ways and means
And So what I look for is Ways and Means to, you know, find funding and financing for these small little films.
- And So what I look for is Ways and Means to, you know, find funding and financing for these small little films.
Examples
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Right now in New York, the greatest scientific minds in the world... are working around the clock analyzing ways and means of survival.
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In some cases, it may be beneficial to form a ways and means committee.
Academic text (1997) -
And So what I look for is Ways and Means to, you know, find funding and financing for these small little films.
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Now that dinner is over, we're very anxious... ...to discuss ways and means of getting back home.
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Does the French government have the ways and means, or the will, to impose law and order?
Academic text (2011) -
To succeed, we must continually change the ways and means of U.S. diplomacy.
Academic text (1998) -
Strategy implies the ability to adjust and readjust ways and means to best fit the situation at hand.
Academic text (2001) -
To that end, many investigators and researchers are studying new ways and means of discerning truth and lies.
Academic text (2006) -
We are moving into the arena of family problems and emotional stress to try to find ways and means of helping people, rather than disciplining them and discharging them.
Academic text (1990) -
Second, it aims at fighting official governmental surrender and at finding ways and means that may lead to the restoration of free Arab sovereignty and decision-making.
Academic text (1996)
Synonyms
842
2.7
A method or tool used to achieve something
670
2.6
Money that an organization or government gives for a project
22
9.3
Money or other resources you need to do something
5
1.0
Money available to spend for a specific purpose
Antonyms
How Available
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'ways' (manner/method) and 'means' (resources or methods), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to methods and resources for achieving something. Although somewhat formal and idiomatic in register (often used in fiscal/government contexts), its meaning is directly compositional and cross-linguistically common, making it transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Ways and means comes from government work, where people put ways, meaning paths or methods, together with means, meaning money or tools, when planning how to pay for projects. That's why today it means 'methods and resources' for getting something done.